Comfort Food
by Ms Kitten
Summary: A funk brought her to the diner. Tequila landed her in his bed. Not remembering made her flee the scene. And the other woman made her realize what had been in front of her this whole time, that everyone had seen... except her. Starts at 3x13 JJ
1. No to Coffee

Disclaimer: Although I would love to be Amy, I'm not. She's a brilliant writer to have come up with this show with so many interessting characters. My writing this fic says nothing against her, it's just an idea I had that I wanted to try out. Great thing about fanfics is that we can.

Title: Comfort Food

Timeline: From "Dear Emily and Richard" in season 3 and onwards.

AN: Anyone else think that Lorelai was looking very down in that ep, when she hear Christopher go on and on about how amazing the whole experience was? It felt a bit unfulfilling that the story went from her looking down, to her installing a DVD player for her mom. What if she had gone to Luke's for comfort, when she returned from the hospital?

AN2: I sometimes gets visions, scenes in my head, mostly just as I'm gonna go to sleep, and sometimes different scenes connects and expands each other. Well as I really got into a crazy GG fit recently scenes started forming, all from the same story, that story is what you're gonna get. To get them out of my head, as well as not forgetting them I wrote down a detailed summary. The summary isn't complete yet, but it's very long, so expect the story to be too.

AN3: Oh and before I forget... review!

* * *

The bell above the door broke the silence that had crept over the diner ever since he'd flipped the sign from 'open' to 'closed'. How long ago that was, Luke wasn't sure, but he knew it to have been a while.

- It's closed, he said, not looking up.

He didn't need to. Knowing very well who it was and knowing that no matter what he did or say, it wouldn't matter. Five seconds later, he heard the familliar soft thump of her purse hitting the counter as she sat down. He still didn't look up, only turned around, putting on a fresh pot of coffee. Just the fact that she hadn't yet demanded it showed how much of a coffee-moment this was. From her not saying a single word, he knew that something was far from right. Putting aside the receipts he'd gone over and the rag he'd used to wipe the counter, he finally looked up, ready to give her his full attention.

- Lorelai, he asked.

She was being quiet, an ability he never knew she had. He knew she could shut her yap when listening to others... mostly. She could watch events and not speak... mostly. When a situation demanded silence, she could pull it off... mostly. But just randomly sitting in a place, doing nothing and yet not speaking? This was not part of the Lorelai Gilmore character description. So something was seriously wrong. He poured coffee into the largest vat he owned and placed it right in front of her. The smell reaching her nostrils alerted her enough to look down into the 'cup of death', as Luke so fondly called it. But she didn't lift it up to her lips, like she would any other situation. He guessed this to be bad, as each other time he had done the same, she wouldn't even go as far as hesitate to take a sip.

- Got anything stronger, she asked, finally speaking.

- It's the strongest batch of coffee I've ever brewed, he pointed out. - Any stronger and I'm afraid I'll break the machine.

- I'm just not in a coffee mood, she shrugged.

- Should I be worrying, Luke asked, alerted by the statement.

- Depends, are you by any chance in posession of Tequila?

- Not down here, he answered.

Lorelai took but seconds to grab her purse and get up from her chair, heading towards the curtain. Luke watched her dumbfondly as she turned to face him.

- What are you waiting for, she asked.

Normally he would at least bring in some objections when Lorelai got an idea into her pretty head, but before he could gather his thoughts she had grabbed onto his wrist, pulling him with her to his appartment. It wasn't the first time she had all of a sudden grabbed a hold of him. Nor was it the first time she had headed up to his place, with or without him. It was far from the first time she was in a bad mood, he'd known her for so long that he'd witnessed every single mood she could manage, which was quite a repertoire. Not even a combination of all mentioned above was new, so why was he feeling so surprised? Why was he feeling short of breath and nervous in her presence? Why did it take him two minutes to register that she'd asked him to bring forth the Tequila? And when he finally went and got it, why did he fetch two glasses, knowing that he had early deliveries the next morning?

He handed her a shot and poured himself one as well. Soon these questions were forgotten as Lorelai got closer to her chatty self. She told him about having to take care of a hysteric Sherry who didn't seem to be able to grasp the reality that she was having a baby. She told him about how she almost was forced to enter the delivery room to Rory's father's girlfriend, just to save her daughter from having to do so. She told him about how she had to first watch, then listen to Christopher's excitement over the whole situation, when he back when Rory had been born, had been nowhere to be seen until it'd been over. She confided in him how betrayed she had felt when Christopher had described Gigi as perfect, when he had said nothing to that degree when their own baby girl had been born. Each part of the story was interrupted by pouring themselves an other shot. The last thing he remembered thinking until it all got fuzzy was he'd never seen Lorelai this down before.

His head felt heavy and twice as big when the alarm woke him at precisely four am. He could not remember when Lorelai had left during the night. He couldn't remember much of the night before, except for some of the events she had told him about during their insessive drinking. He started worrying about whether she got home okay or not, but being four am, he decided against calling her to check. He would worry if she didn't turn up for coffee in the morning, as he was sure she too had a massive hangover. Well, if that was the case, he would bring some over to her place.

TBC

_AN: I have the next chapter ready, but I want reviews before I post it... evil I know._


	2. Where am I?

AN: Wow, I ask for review with threat to withold the next chapter and I get 11 reviews? I should've done this ages ago. I remember back when I wrote what I then concidered to be my bit "masterpiece", I got the total of 40 reviews for 25 chapters, even though I posted daily keeping people's interesst up. So thanks for making me feel so welcome to the LL fiction world. For being so responsive you guys _do_ deserve the next chapter ;)

* * *

- Bad alarm, bad, bad alarm, Lorelai mumbled as she so distinctively heard an alarm go off.

She stretched her arm out to the oh so familliar spot to shut the damn thing off. However all she could manage to touch was the wood of the nightstand and unfamilliar items. Had she finally gone through with her plans of changing the placement of the alarm clock last night, as she had concidered doing for many months now? She just couldn't remember, the day before felt mighty fuzzy to her. Finally opening her eyes she managed to conclude many things. One, the ringing didn't come from an alarm clock, it was just in her head, which together with a severe headache concluded that she had a hangover. Two, this wasn't her bedroom at all, hence the not finding of the alarm clock. It took her a couple of seconds to realize this was actually Luke's bedroom. Or more accurately Luke's appartment, since he only had the one room and the bathroom. What was she doing sleeping in Luke's bed? Feeling the arm lying protectively at her waist, her eyes widened. What was she doing sleeping in Luke's bed, _with_ Luke? And then it finally hit her, that she wasn't just lying in Luke's bed with Luke. She was lying _naked_ in Luke's bed with Luke.

This started a whole new trail of thought in her head. How was it it took her several minutes to realize she was in fact _naked_? Being naked had it's distinctive feel, didn't matter what bed linen you were under. Being naked under a bed linene felt completely different than being in a pyjamas under a bed linen, which was her usual bed attire. She only ever slept naked in a bed if the last activety before sleep had been sex. Or that one time where she had been sickly and woken up confused and sweaty and stripped off everything before returning to bed. But even then she had originally gone to sleep _in_ a pyjamas.

Her gaze went sideways on Luke's sleeping form. Was he too naked under those covers? Had they had sex? She looked around the room and the randomely scattered items of clothing all the way from the kitchen area and to the bed surely indicated it. The way her body felt was even more of an indication. It had been what... seven or eight months since the last time she had sex? Whoa... was she concluding that she had sex with Luke? Had she and Luke had sex last night? No... forget that question. Had she and Luke had _good_ sex last night?

What was she doing? She was putting the words 'Luke' and 'sex' in the same sentence over and over again. He was her _best_ friend, she couldn't be thinking of him in a sexual way. Her eyes once again gazed over to his still soundly sleeping form and wondered... what _did_ Luke look like naked? If she could only lift the covers a little and take a peak.

- Whoa... Gilmore, what are you doing, she silently whispered to herself.

She pulled her hand back to herself and peaked over at the alarm clock, which said 3:25. She couldn't remember a single time before where she had woken up at 3:25 before, or 3 anything. Every fiber of her body told her she needed to sleep more, or else she'd fall asleep head first in whatever soup Sookie would have her taste when she came in to work. She needed to sleep, she had to sleep. But she couldn't sleep here. Her head was filled with thoughts of 'Luke' and 'sex'. Lying back down in bed _with_ Luke, possibly _naked_ Luke next to her... there was no way she would get her thoughts away from those topics in the presence of _naked_ Luke, not that she knew he was naked. It was just a possible assumption.

It felt uncomfortable to let go of the sheet and feel the air of Luke's appartment go all over her body. Most of all she wanted to wrap herself in the sheet as she searched the floor for her underwear. However, pulling on the sheet would most likely wake Luke up and that was a confrontation she was yet not ready for. Too jumbled thoughts in her head. She did instead get dressed in record time. Once the underwear had been found it had taken her seconds to cover her basics. After pulling her top on as well, she felt calmer. One wouldn't say comepletely 'calm', but definately calmer than she was when she had slipped out from underneath the sheet. Her pants, socks and shoes were next, followed by pulling on her jacket and grabbing her purse.

She contemplated leaving Luke a note, explaining herself, but for once, Lorelai Gilmore couldn't find the words.

TBC


	3. Hangover delightness

AN: Wow, 14 new reviews, you guys have no idea how happy it makes me feel. Keep this up and I'll pass my record in number of reviews for one story (and that story had 25 chapter, like previously mentioned).

AN2: I tried getting this up several days ago, but didn't let me. So sorry, but it's not my fault it's late. You know the drill... Read... Review... and then I'll post the next chapter... It's already ready ;)

* * *

She wanted to kill whoever had invented the alarm clock. Out of all things evil, being woken up by an alarm clock when you had a severe hangover was somewhere on the top ten. It was very possibly in the very top range of that list, in fact if anyone had asked her right there and then which invention she thought was the cruelest, she would answer the frickin' alarm clock. Worse was the fact that she was sleeping at the foot of the bed, having collapsed over it as she had snuck in the middle of the night, her hand was in no way capable of just reaching over the shut it off.

A loud yelp, followed by an impressing list of curse words rolled off her tongue as her arms collapsed underneath her, causing her to fall back down on the bed, not before slamming her chin onto the edge of the bed. Rolling sideways the bad luck followed as she rolled off the bed, ending up on the floor. The alarm clock _still_ ringing. Her head felt as if it was going to explode and all she could think was she needed to hold onto it, cover her ears and wish the ringing away. Despite the logical part of her brain telling her she couldn't wish the ringing away it was all she could manage to do.

- _Mom_, Rory yelled as she entered the room, immediatly shutting the alarm clock off.

- Angel, Lorelai sighed as she let go of her ears.

- When did you get home last night, Rory asked.

- _Gyaaah_, Lorelai winced, hands flying back to her ears, her head pounding. - Is it bad that I'm still hearing that damn alarm clock in my head?

- Are you _drunk_?

- What, Lorelai shrieked, immediatly regretting it as her own voice was too loud for her head.

- You're on the floor, wearing yesterday's clothes and you're hearing ringing in your head. It's not that weird of an assumption.

- I have a headache, I woke up on the wrong end of the bed and I've only slept a couple of hours tops, Lorelai groaned. - How do I get up?

Lorelai could've swore she _heard_ Rory roll her eyes as she grabbed hold of her hands, pulling her up to her feet. Her daughter proceeded to push her in direction of the bathroom, encouraging her to splash cold wated in her face, while she went downstairs. Her head ached so bad that Lorelai was tempted to just fill the sink and lie face down into it. Resisting the urge she just filled her cupped hands with water continously splashing the cold liquid onto her face. After what seemed like to be three hours, but probably was just three minutes, Lorelai could smell the familliar, comforting scent of freshly brewed coffee.

- My Angel, she sighed happily, immediatly taking the cup from Rory's hand.

- There, you're up, you're on your way to be caffenated, I'm off, Rory announced, giving her mom a peck on the cheek before heading downstairs to leave.

Any other day and Lorelai would yell something quippy after her, but yelling was way out of the question. Her cup was empty and she was left with two choices, go downstairs to brew more or head back to bed, sleeping off the hangover. Just then her phone rang. Groaning, Lorelai picked it up.

- _You're not going back to bed_, Rory said in the other end.

- That's it, kid. We've officially overbonded, Lorelai announced. - We've grown so attached we can reach each other's minds. Freaky.

- _I'm not reading minds, just behaviour. You've played hooky for less before, mom. You need to be a big girl and go to work._

Before Lorelai managed to respond, her kid had hung up on her. The bed was still tempting, but as much as she hated to admitt it, her kid was right. That didn't mean she had to be happy about it and she went downstairs with a frown.

Downstairs coffee tasted nothing like upstairs coffee, even though she knew that was a stupid thing to think. Even stupider was that she kept drinking it. Luke was right, she had a problem. The minute Luke entered her mind she was done for it. Weird tingles went down her spine as she remembered in what proximity she had been to Luke's nakedness, not that she had checked or anything. She wondered what he was thinking when he woke up that morning. Did he wonder about why she had left? Was he waiting for her to show up? Would he remember to have a fresh pot ready for her? Who was she kidding? He always had a fresh pot ready. Knowing her to be hung over, he would most likely be ready to start brewing again the minute he poured the coffee. Would he expect her to bring up last night or would he do it himself?

She decided against heading for the diner. For once, her head was in no shape or form ready for the big confrontation, secondly, if she didn't hurry up she would be late for work. The second was a plausable excuse should Luke ask her later on why she didn't show. Five minutes for shower, ten if she had her breakfast at the inn. She went for ten. Sookie made the _best_ hangover meals anyway.

Despite being the manager of the place, her staff managed to order her around doing small chores in the quiet areas of the inn, as she was in no physical shape to deal with real life customers. Inbetween meals she hung out in the kitchen with Sookie. The minute someone started chopping, she was out again. It had been surprisingly easy to leave out the Luke incident from her story without raising suspision from her friend. Lorelai hadn't really portrayed herself as that good of an actress. Her powers were not the one's to put up an act as much as putting up enough distractions to get people's minds on other things. Could be Sookie's pregnancy throwing her focus off, cause Lorelai could've sworn, any other situation before Sookie was able to call out the detailes of the story, or at least ask the right questions.

The day ended far too quickly, it was almost dinnertime. A time she would normally head straight for Luke's for one of his fabulous cheese burgers and chili fries and masses of coffee to boot. Imagine her surprise when she an hour and a half later found herself standing in front of the door of her parents house, holding a DVD player. She could only imagine what was going on in her mothers head, as she occupied herself with first reading the manual, which seemed to be written in every single language except English. Sighing, she just picked up the box and made her way to the stairs.

- Well, can you do it, Emily asked.

- I have no idea, Lorelai admitted truthfully.

- Where are you going?

Lorelai grinned, even broke into a showtune and a dance as she made her way upstairs. Emily following. The pre-occupation worked and it was as much as two hours later, after many failed attempts with connecting the correct wires to correct pieces of electric equipment, the looks of horror from her mom worth every aggrivating second, that Lorelai found herself back in Stars Hollow, outside the diner, looking in. Sighing, she knew she had been stupid to have avoided him all day. The conversation wouldn't go away just because she had been putting it off. Also, she had missed out on an entire day of Luke's coffee. The second part made her feel particulary stupid.

After five minutes of waiting, gathering her courage, she finally made those last few steps to move through the door, just as she saw Luke appearing through the curtain. He looked up as the door made the bell ring.

- Hey.

TBC

_AN: Yes, I know I'm an evil Bitcah for leaving the chapter right there, but just so you know I originally planned to end the chapter before and not even have her step into the diner until next chapter. Don't worry, review and I'll continue this ASAP._


	4. Who is she?

AN: Thanks for the reviews, especially those who had more to say that just "update soon", lol.

**Robinpoppins** - Well Lorelai freaked more out about that she was naked _in_ Luke's bed. I don't think she would contemplate it as much if she woke up naked in her own bed. So I didn't have Luke thinking about it, since he's at this point pretty sure he doesn't stand a chance with her.

**smileyGGfan** - I'm glad you liked my drunk Lorelai. No although I have a tendency to put in my own experiences into fics. I've actually never managed to get real drunk. Tipsy at best... lol. I sound like a prude, but getting drunk when you hate the taste of alcohol is _hard_!

AN2: Oh and if you _really_ want to get on my good side, in addition to the "update soon" and hopefully something insightfull about the chapter itself. It's my 22nd birthday tomorrow (2nd May) ;)

* * *

- Hey, he replied.

The diner was more or less deserted. The only people she could spot was a couple sitting by one of the windows. She'd never seen them before, probably people passing through. Perfect scenario to get that talk over and done with without fearing the gossip reaching the town. Her gaze returned to Luke and she finally noticed his changed appearance. Clean shaven, leather jacket and for a minute there she was _sure_ she'd smelled cologne.

- Um... hi, she repeated. - What happened to your face?

- What do you mean, Luke pondered, eyeing her strangely.

- It's... v-visible, Lorelai stuttered, still in shock of the drastic change in her friend.

- Oh, I shaved, he explained.

- Why, Lorelai questioned.

- Just thought a change might be good, Luke shrugged, turning to put on a pot of coffee.

- Where to start? Where to start? Where to start, Lorelai whispered to herself.

Luke, the guy who had kept all his dad's old stuff because he hated change. Luke, who she had to _beg_ to concider sprucing up the place. Luke, who she had to force to even try _on_ the clothes she had bought him just in case. _He_ thought it'd be nice with a change? Wait... those _were_ the clothes she had bought him.

- What, Luke asked.

- Nothing, she automaticly answered.

- Hey, are you feeling any better, he suddenly asked, as he was pouring her coffee.

- W-what, she asked, taken back by the question.

- When you came in yesterday you were kinda upset. I don't really remember much of what we talked about. I don't even remember when you left yesterday. Did you get home okay?

- Oh y-yeah.., Lorelai stuttered. - I'm a bit fuzzy about it too, actually. I remember waking up on the foot of the bed this morning, so I did make it there. No idea when, though.

Luke chuckled.

- That's good. I was worried. Hey, if you ever need to talk, hopefully without the tequila, I'm here, you know.

- Very appreciated, she nodded. - I think I agree with you on the tequila. Very bad idea. But I think I'm gonna be okay.

The bell above the diner rang and instinctly Lorelai turned to see. A blonde woman she couldn't remember seeing before came in. She looked kinda overdressed for the diner, probably someone who lost their way. It happened from time to time.

- Hi, the woman said, looking past Lorelai, and at... Luke.

Lorelai turned to look at Luke, brows raised in surprise.

- Hi, Luke replied, ignoring Lorelai's surprised look.

- Oh, she suddenly said in realization.

Luke had a date. _Luke_ had a _date_. How awkward was this? And where was this stinging feeling of jealousy coming from? She didn't want Luke... did she?

- You're.., Lorelai continued.

- Nicole, this is Lorelai, Luke said, interrupting her.

- Nice to meet you, Nicole said, shaking her hand. - I'm Nicole Leahy.

- Lorelai Gilmore, Lorelai replied, putting on her polite work face.

Nicole turned to look at Luke.

- Wow, you look nice.

- Yeah, he shyly replied. - You... too.

- So, you ready or should I sit down?

- No, let's go, I'm ready... _Jess_!

All of a sudden Nicole's phone started ringing.

- Oh, I'm sorry. I'll just...

Lorelai looked at Luke, who simply nodded as Nicole answered the phone _in the diner_. Her eyes went wide.

- Oh, hey, hey Luke.., she muttered, pointing at the phone, pointing at the sign.

- She's a lawyer, Luke shrugged.

- So what? Luke!

- Shh!

Lorelai couldn't believe what she was hearing. Luke grabbed her hands as she gesticulated towards the phone and the sign. Why was Luke bending his rules for this woman? Why was he holding her hands down, preventing her from moving. Why was that tingle back as she felt Luke touch her hands. She started to hate that tingle. She was _not_ falling for Luke. She was _especially not_ falling for Luke as he was about to go on a _date_. A _date_ who already had him bending his _rules_. Nicole finished up her call quickly and turned back to them, just as Luke let go of Lorelai's hands.

- Sorry, she smiled. - The phone is going off now.

- It's okay, Luke answered. - Make as many calls as you want.

Lorelai did everything she could to prevent herself from commenting on this. Luckily Luke distracted her.

- Oh for heaven's sake, _Jess_, he bellowed.

Jess appeared from behind the curtain.

- Yes, uncle Luke, he responded, reluctantly.

- I'm leaving now, I'll be back in a couple of hours. Try not to burn the place down, while I'm gone.

- Can't make any promises, Jess replied, as he turned to grab himself a doughnut.

- It was nice meeting you, Nicole said, as she and Luke turned to leave.

- Yeah... you... too, Lorelai responded, feeling unsure about the whole situation.

Luke turned and moved closer to her, making her heart skip a beat. Why did her heart skip? She didn't want it to skip.

- Please, if you could maybe keep an eye on Jess for a little while I'd appreciate it. At least until some other locals comes in. I don't really feel comfortable leaving him to take care of strangers. Locals at least know what to expect, plus they report back to me. Free meals and coffee for a week if you do, no lecture or anything.

- Sure, Lorelai replied with a smile.

- Thank you, he said, turning around, leading Nicole with him out the door.

- Bye, Lorelai said, as the door closed.

Sighing, she turned to Jess.

- Hey, when did you come back?

- This morning.

- Had a good time with your mom?

- Tolerable, Jess replied, shrugging. - Coffee?

- Please, plus three doughnuts, apple pie and a can of whipped cream.

- He asked you to supervise me, didn't he, Jess asked.

Lorelai simply grinned as he sighed, placed the food in front of her, then headed for the kitchen to get the can. The grin however faded as her thoughts returned to Luke.

- Penny for your thoughts, Jess said, as he handed her the can.

- One, how cheap do you think I am? Two, when were my thoughts of interesst to you?

- I'm bored, he shrugged. - Rory's not coming in tonight and I have to watch the diner for a couple of hours since my uncle decided to have a life.

- Nicole, how long've Luke been seeing her?

- First date tonight. Why?

- Oh, nothing. I was just wondering, Lorelai replied casually.

- Sure.

TBC

_AN: I'm waiting for the hatemail to follow... lol. Please remember that I'm a JavaJunkie, so don't hire the hitmen just yet..._


	5. The answering machine

AN: _Snickers_ at the hatemail received. I'm very much looking forward to the future responces :P Thanks for the birthday wishes as well :)

**chmelms** & **Lolabelle26**, I giggled _loudly_ reading your comments!

**Alexia**, Happy belated birthday, **LukeAndLorelaiAllways** & **smileyGGfan**, happy coming birthday!

**smileyGGfan** - Thanks for the massive review. I loved reading it. And I especially liked to hear what you had to say about my writing style. Believe it or not, you're the first to comment and not complain. I usually get a couple of annoyed comments about it whenever I start writing in a new fandom, meaning getting a new group of readers, but after a couple of comments people stop complaining and get around to it. You're the first to be so supportive of it right away. I can't even stress how much that means to me, especially since _this_ story you're reading here was refused from an archive of the sole reason that I don't use the "bunny ears" on my dialogue. I kept telling them that there are in fact published works that use the style I use, that I've been taught to write this way, but it didn't matter in the end. Thank you for saying all those positive things about it, I really liked hearing it. I should've just forwarded your comment to those people... lol

**GGRox07** - Very appreciated to find some story comments. Yes, I can confirm that something did happen between them that night.

* * *

Lorelai sat on the couch with the answering machine on her lap. Alex had called and left, not one, but five messages. Not creepy five checking in messages in really short time kinda way, nor were they continuing messages that her machine had interrupted. They didn't say the exact same thing. In fact it was completely her own fault she had the total of five messages from Alex on her answering machine.

Why were she avoiding his calls? Why didn't she want to talk to her boyfriend? Whoa... was he her boyfriend? True, they had gone out a couple of times. But what was the definition of boyfriend? Were they dating or were they a couple? Rory had it easy, for her boyfriend meant regular kissage. Was it the same here? They had shared a couple of kisses, but it felt too regular to make into a definition of where the line between dating and coupling were...

- Hmm, coupling... _dirty_, she giggled.

But that was it. There had been no coupling. She hadn't really thought about it as the dates always ended outside her door and after the whole ordeal with Max, Lorelai had again gone back to dating by her and Rory's special code. In fact, Alex barely even stepped over the threshold when he picked her up and barely stepped up on the porch when dropping her off. It was funny how the guy she was seeing seemed almost afraid to enter her house. Alex was always annoyingly on time, which meant many minutes of waiting, yet he never came into the living room. It wasn't as though there was a 'no men are allowed inside' kind of rule. Men came over... well not as much men as... Luke.

- Man, there I go again, she muttered.

Whenever she saw him, heard his name or for some reason thought about him, she couldn't help, but feel this pang of emotions rush right back. It was stupid really. Luke had seen Nicole a couple of more times. Not that she had witnessed it, Jess had told her... well more like told her after insessive nagging. She felt like an idiot, obsessing over the situation. So they had slept together... it wasn't as though either remembered it happen, which was an other thing that bugged her. She was going insane over something she didn't even remember. What did it matter wether it had been good or bad? What did it matter wether or not she had liked it? What did it matter who had initiated it? _Because_, a voice in her head said. _You have't been able to get him out of your head since._

- Mom, please say you're not listening yet again.., Rory groaned as she entered the living room. - Haven't they stopped being sexy yet?

Lorelai looked up at her daughter, who despite the groan wore a large smile on her face. Rory plumped down beside her in the couch, pushing Lorelai's feet aside to make room for her own.

- You seem happy, she observed.

It was then Lorelai realized she was carrying a dreamy look on her face. She was being dreamy-faced when thinking of Luke. _Alex_, she corrected herself. She was originally thinking about Alex. Who was she kidding? The dreamy look on her face had appeared as her thoughts had swerved off Alex lane and onto Luke turnpike. However, her daughter didn't know that. And in what way could Lorelai tell her? _Keep up pretences, Gilmore._

- There's a new message, she stated.

- An other one, Rory exclaimed, though with a grin. - That makes it, what, five?

- Five, Lorelai confirmed. - He's asking me to come to New York with him for the weekend.

- Sounds potentially romantic, Rory pointed out.

- Yeah, I guess. He has tickets to a play and even suggested I could bring Sookie and Jackson along. To the play, I mean. The rest of the weekend would just be us.

- It's not 'Buckle up, I'm Patty', right?

- What, Lorelai asked, raising her brow in confusion.

- Nothing. Patty has a new show coming and she and Kirk kinda hijacked me and Dean into being her random audience to test it out on.

- Let me guess, not so great?

- I got to witness several interessting showbiz arguements between her and Kirk, maybe they can work _that_ into the act.

- Wait, she hijacked you and _Dean_? What about Jess?

- She grabbed Dean first, like an hour before she grabbed me. It was very random. Jess happened to just not be by my side as it happened. Jess didn't like it, but he knows it was out of my control.

- Speaking of which, how's he dealing with coming with you to dinner?

- He's dealing, I haven't gotten him up to excited, but I'll get him there.

- Well I am excited, I am _very_ excited. Wait, why am I excited again?

- Because Grandma is letting you off the hook for dinner this week.

- Oh, _right_, Lorelai giggled. - _He_ has to come to dinner, and _I_ don't! This is adding up to be a pretty good week.

- Of course, Rory teased. - Add a dreamy boyfriend taking you away for the weekend and we might even reach perfection.

- Yeah, Lorelai replied, more than a little unsure.

TBC


	6. Take me home

AN: Wow, 2 days and the total of 5 reviews. Are people trying to tell me something? I get that you may dislike Alex and especially Nicole entering the story, but at this time in the season they were present in Luke and Lorelai's lives. Do you really want me to magically fix Luke's memory and have them go straight with the Mad Monkey Sex? Would that really make you happy? It's instant gratification, but it wouldn't be Luke and Lorelai. I'd rather work _with_ the obsticles the season has presented me, not avoid them. Now I'm posting this chapter under the belief that this whole less reviews thing was a hoax, never again to be repeated, as well as letting you in on a secret. I write one chapter ahead of what I post, so it's there, ready to be posted, think about that when you wonder whether or not to review ;)

**chmelms** - Thank you for the therapy session, lol, I feel much better. lol.

**nicole** & **GGRox07** - I'm sorry if it felt like a filler, but maybe this chapter makes the last make more sense? I dunno, hopefully you'll bare with me on the Rory chapters... lol. I should at least hope so.

**smileyGGfan** - And my novelist of a reviewer strikes again, lol, LOVE it. I'm gonna admitt something to you right away. Due to bad air times and a time in my life where I had little access to GG, I didn't get to watch it regularly in the season 3-4 area. I remember some episodes, but not all (plus season 3 isn't released on DVD until late June) and I can't even remember what Alex was like. But as he was already in the picture at the point I started this story I was aware I couldn't just edit him out. So instead I've been reading to get a feel of him.

* * *

- _Rory_, have you seen my bracelet?

- What bracelet, her daughter asked, not even turning away from the computer.

- That silver one?

- You're kidding, right, Rory muttered to herself as she got up from her chair and put the screen down. - I need you to be a little more specific, mom.

Rory had only barely reached the door as Lorelai limped her way into the kitchen, seemingly struggling with putting on her shoe at the same time as she was fastening one ear ring. She shook her head at her mom's failing attempt at multitasking. Getting both shoes and ear rings on, Lorelai straightened up and looked at her daughter.

- What were you saying, daughter dearest?

- Don't tell me you've already forgotten what you came down here for.

- Oh, _right_, bracelet. That was it. So you've seen it?

- Seen what? Mom, between the two of us we must have at least twenty bracelets matching the vague description you gave me.

- The silver one, Lorelai elaborated. - It has little stars and moons on it.

- Mom, that's _my_ bracelet.

- Then can I borrow it, Lorelai asked, studying Rory's firm stare and added. - Please?

- Much better.

- You raise me so well, Lorelai giggled.

Rory smiled as she turned and pulled the bracelet out from it's specific place in her jewelry box. The minute the clasp was shut around her wrist, Lorelai took a couple of steps back and twirled around.

- What do you think?

- A bit covered for a woman trying to get lucky.

Lorelai scoffed.

- What makes you think I'm trying to get lucky?

- You're going away for a whole weekend and it's not with grandma this time. I might be naive, but I'm not _that_ naive, Rory pointed out.

- Well, the drive is long and the play is kinda classy, can't be all slutty at a classy play, Lorelai defended. - Plus Sookie and Jackson are gonna be there, too.

- At least tell me you're bringing something a _little_ more revealling for tomorrow, Rory pleaded, then looked at her moms empty hands. - Where's your bag?

- My bag, Lorelai asked, confused.

- For the weekend, Rory elaborated, her eyes widening. - You're saying you haven't even packed it? He'll be here any minute.

- I, I guess I forgot, Lorelai replied, lamely. - I'll do that right now.

- Remember to pack something slutty, Rory called as her mom rushed up the stairs.

- What's with your sudden unhealthy fixation on my sex life, Lorelai asked.

- I-I'm not fixated, Rory stuttered.

Lorelai's eyes widened as she rushed back down the stairs, pulling Rory with her to the couch, proceeding to push her into one seat as she herself sat down on an other.

- You're thinking about it, aren't you? It, the big _it_, you're thinking about it.

- _No_, Rory replied, a little too fast.

- Oh, yes you are, Lorelai said with a little more confidence. - You're doing the whole Bambi in headlights face. Kid, you know better than to even attempt at lying to me. You suck at lying. I know the whole mom code thing is that you're never to tell your kid that they suck at something, but you, my friend can _not_ lie to save your life.

- Okay, Rory sighed. - Maybe I've thought about it a little.

- Maybe, Lorelai asked.

- A _little_, Rory repeated.

- As in 'you're pushing for this weekend to get the house for yourself' kinda little?

- No, Rory replied, quietly.

- Okay, Lorelai sighed.

- But it might, Rory added. - I mean, not this weekend or any day closeby, but eventually.

- With... Jess. Lorelai asked.

- With Jess, Rory confirmed, looking at her mom. - Is that... okay?

- Sweetie, you know that my ideal scenario is you waiting until you're in retirement.

- Then how on earth would you get grandkids, Rory teased.

- Don't even joke about that missy, Lorelai exclaimed, her hand on her chest. - One more crack about it and you're on the pill immediately. I'm serious, I'd supervise you taking it every single morning. Then when you go off to Harvard I'd follow and come in every single morning to make sure you took it.

- Sorry, Rory apologised. - Do you want me to... tell you about this stuff?

- Yeah, um... no, um... yeah...

- Which is it?

Lorelai took a deep breath and looked into her daughter's eyes.

- I want you... to tell me. Not a play by play, for God knows I'm not gonna be discussing technique with you. But I want a warning. When you think you might be ready, let me know, okay?

- Okay, Rory nodded.

- Okay.

- So...

- So...

- Don't you have a bag to pack?

- Oh, shoot, Lorelai exclaimed. - My weekend! How long I got? When is he arriving...?

- Um.., Rory mumbled, checking her watch. - Five... minutes ago...

- He's late, Lorelai pointed out.

- Maybe he wanted to give you some extra time to get ready, Rory suggested.

- Maybe, Lorelai halfway agreed. - It's just weird. Not like him at all.

- No time to ponder, go, get your bag.

Rory pushed Lorelai in the direction of the stairs, who proceeded to semi-slowly stumble up the steps towards her room.

- Remember to bring something slutty, Rory yelled after her.

- My low-cut black satin dress and something from the 'not fair' drawer, her mother shouted from inside the bedroom.

- Perfect, Rory replied, grinning, just as the door bell rang.

- Rory, can you get that? I'm almost done, just tell him to wait a couple more minutes.

- Will do, Rory replied as she made her way to the door. - Hey Luke.

- Hi, he replied. - Where's your mom?

- Upstairs, she'll probably be down in a couple of minutes.

- Ok, good, he muttered.

- Aaaaand, I'm all done, Lorelai announced as she was making her way down the stairs. - Rory, think fast!

Rory almost dropped the bag as she caught it, but only almost. Lorelai grinned, making her down the steps and rounded the corner.

- Luke, hi, she said, leaning in for the kiss. - Hey...

- Right back at ya, he murmured. - Ready to go?

- But of course, Lorelai grinned as Luke's arm went around her shoulders, leading her out of the door.

- Have fun, Rory called after them.

- Back at you, Lorelai replied. - Don't do anything...

She didn't manage to finish that sentence before she felt herself wake up. It was no longer light, with the exception of the passing traffic lights, it was pitch black. She was in a car, but she wasn't driving. She looked up at Luke, only to find Alex sitting in the driver's seat.

- Hey, he said, softly. - You feeling better?

It was then it all came back to her. She had been dreaming about that morning, or rather noon-ish that day. Rory working on her home exam in english lit. Her getting ready for the weekend away. Sitting Rory down with a short version of a "talk", when her daughter revealled her thoughts about possibly engaging in sexual activities. Then Alex, not Luke, picking her up for the trip. Luke... _why had she been dreaming about Luke?_

- Hey, you allright, Alex asked again.

- Um... huh? Oh... I'm fine, she mumbled. - Just groggy and the neck is aching a bit. Bad sleeping position.

The night had gone pretty well. The play wasn't all that good, but having Sookie next to her, mocking it with her, had been great. It was fine and Alex had been the perfect gentleman. Then they came towards the end of the evening and she didn't really know why, but she hadn't been all keen on staying the weekend. She convinced herself that it was because of the talk she and Rory had had right before leaving. Not knowing how to explain it to Alex without revealling too much, she faked a stomach ache and he offered to end the weekend right away. _Perfect gentleman_

Apparently sometime after getting in she had nodded off. Just as the ride in to NY had been quiet, the way back was the same. It was somewhat cozy, though. She felt no need to be chatting. Maybe, one of the few times she felt like being quiet volunterely, without there being anything wrong. She spent the rest of the ride back home, looking out of the window. She didn't notice the car had stopped until Alex had gone around it, opening the door for her. Smiling, she accepted his hand and got out. She was about to reach for her bag, but he insisted on taking it himself.

- Mom, Rory asked, as she popped her head out the door.

- Hey hun, Lorelai replied.

- I thought you were staying for the weekend.

- Why, planning a party, Lorelai teased.

- As a matter of fact, I'm doing laundry.

- You're not eating indian, are you, Lorelai asked, wrinkling her nose.

- No, I was planning to, but I guess we could order from somewhere else. You still haven't said why you're home already.

- Your mom wasn't feeling well, so we called off the weekend, Alex explained, handing Lorelai the bag.

- Thanks, she replied, giving him a kiss. - We'll talk later.

- I'll call, Alex promised. - Maybe we can reschedual for an other weekend.

- Maybe.

He gave her an other kiss before returning to his car, driving off. Lorelai changed the hands on the bag and made her way up to the porch and door.

- You're not feeling well, Rory asked, concerned.

- Stomach ache, Lorelai lied. - It's almost gone now. In fact, I'm feeling hungry. Starved even.

- So, where you wanna order from, Rory asked.

- How about Al's?

- Al's, Rory asked, brows risen.

- Al's.

- Al's it is.

TBC


	7. You can call the toilet Al

AN: Hey the review number was back to normal... oh, well... I waited a little longer, but it feels like I got the numbers up. And tomorrow's the big season finale day, which means I'll get to see it within a couple of days, hopefully. On a more happy note, it's only a couple of days until my weekend trip to the UK, attending Starfury's last Angel convention (okay, that too deserves sobs, but the sobs will come _after_ the con is over, until then I will enjoy my ass off... lol). Okay, enough about that, oh hey, reviews. Make more of them and I might be nice and let you have a Luke chapter next ;) Oh and an other minor note, I just made my second JJ vid, which you can find in my vid section here:

http // shades-of-moonlight . com /du/ video-misc.php

**GGRox07** - Finally thinking about Luke? And here I thought I had her thinking about him in several chapters... lol, my bad.

**Mary** - I was _waiting_ to see when I would get this comment (see what I mean, **smileyGGfan**?) about my format. And with that I'm repeating myself. The rest of the world isn't using the "bunny ears", because that would imply I am the only one writing my way, and I really am not. This isn't something I've invented, it's something I've been taught. As for when the lines end, and the comments begin, well as long as someone reads with an open mind, give it a couple of chapters and it feels like second nature. I could make a large rant about formats, ups and downs, but that would just take time away from the kind of writing I want to do... lol

**smileyGGfan** - Glad you liked your nickname, it's your official one from now, what do you say? lol I'm glad it was confusing, it was meant to be confusing. I'm actually surprised with how little that little thing in the chapter was mentioned. And thank you on liking my Alex. I agree on the weird-factor on the poofing, when something starts it deserves to be officially ended. As for spoilers, I'm far from spoiler free, but I'm not posting any of that here.

* * *

Rory lay stretched out on her mothers bed, staring into space, while urging herself from spilling the contents of her stomach onto the pretty blanket her mother had made many moons ago out of no longer needed baby clothes. For the past hour or so, she and her mother had taken turns on hogging _Dougie_, their belowed toilet. Though with the recent defiling of _Dougie_ the two of them contemplated on renaming him, _Al_. It only seemed fitting to do at least that since their take-out feast had taken a very ugly turn.

Hearing the flush of _Dougie_, now named _Al_, Rory looked up to see her mother stumble out of the bathroom. Her eyes were watery and the skintone had a green-ish glow to it. It was safe to say that food poisoning didn't agree with any of the two Gilmores.

- I swear, Lorelai groaned. - At one point in there, I completely turned inside out.

- Sounds bad, Rory said, wrinkling her nose. - Was it like that guy in Men in Black?

- No, not as gross.

- Like that lady in Braindead?

- Not as funny.

- Like Robbie Williams in that video?

- Now you're just trying to wig me out.

During the quip, Lorelai had dramaticly let herself collapse onto the bed, crawled her way up the side before settling down next to her. Rory was silent for a moment, before she turned her head to face her mom.

- Ours is a terribly, terribly werid mind.

- Nah, Lorelai replied. - Everyone knows we are right, it's just buried so deep it takes a baseball bat to get them to realize it.

- But you hate sports, Rory pointed out.

- Thus proving my point of why so few people openly think and act like us.

- Wow, you have much knowledge. You should teach.

- And thereby making everyone into us? Then there'd be no more good tables, all the good _and_ bad movies would always be out. We'd be stuck with the crap in the middle, that's neither good or funny bad. Knowing us, we'd probably take it and with lack of comparisson, God help us, we'd like it and we'd end up the tasteless out of all of us. And what about the coffee? Luke's would be out of coffee before we'd even get there.

- But if everyone was like us, they too would sleep in.

- Then there'd be lines, and we wouldn't always be first in those.

- We could sneak, Rory suggested. - After all we are friendly with the owner of the establishment.

- As would anyone else in possession of knowledge of the best coffee in town, Lorelai pointed out, sighing. - Face it kid, we're just not cut out for world domination.

- Sad, Rory sighed.

Rory silently let out a groan as she felt her stomach acting up. Not wanting to get off the bed, not wanting to yet an other time hanging over _Dougie_, now called _Al_, she reminded herself, having a re-introduction to her food.

- You poor thing, Lorelai said, noticing the change of expression in her kid. - Dougie acting up again?

Rory shot her a look.

- How can a toilet.., she started, then disbelief washed over her face. - No... don't tell me... you _named_ my stomach _Dougie_...? Why on earth would you name my stomach Dougie..?

- It's a perfectly good name, Lorelai argued. - Why, you don't think it fit?

- I dunno whether I should start with the fact that you named one of my bodyparts or the fact that you named it after our toilet.

- I figured with the circumstances it was justified. Dougie needed a new home. Besides, I name things all the time, you know that.

- You've never named a bodypart before, Rory pointed out.

- Totally not true, Lorelai objected, pointing down to her chest. - Meet _Betty_ and _Joan_.

- You just made that up.

- Did not. They've been with me for years, well _Betty_ has. _Joan_ however used to be _Janet_, but then we had the whole ordeal with Janet Jackson at the Superbowl, and _Janet_, here, got jealous, very obsessive. Used to drive me nuts, so I re-named her _Joan_. She's been quiet ever since.

- My mother, ladies and gentlemen, Rory sighed. - The starring mental case of Stars Hollow.

- Oh, hush, Lorelai skoffed. - Still feeling funky?

- Told you I thought those shrimp tasted funny.

- Wasn't the shrimp, hun.

- Why are you so sure?

- Cause I didn't have the shrimp, Lorelai simply pointed out.

- Oh, Rory replied. - Then what do you think it was?

- You know what I think it was?

- I just asked you that.

- Hush, mommy's talking. I bet it's the salad. I'm positive. All this insessive nagging to get us to eat healthy and then when we finally include a salad in a meal, what do we get? A full night's re-aquiantance with _Al_.

- The salad? Are you sure, mom?

- Positive. I mean, why didn't I think about it before? We see it all the time, all those shows about it. It's always the salad. They don't keep the goods sepparated when they make it, so bad meet gets in touch with the salad. And because you don't fry the salad, you don't get rid off the bad and then you eat it and it's, hello _Al_.

- Most people don't have toilets, named _Al_, Rory joked.

- Work with me, kid, Lorelai exclaimed. - And I'm such an idiot. I vouched after every single one of those shows that I would never ever touch a salad. And what did I do? Not only did I order one, but I ate half of it. And first I thought that would be enough to make Luke proud of me for a month and then this happens. Well, that's final. I'm never again gonna try this whole healthy thing. I declare war on salads. It's everything deepfried from now on.

- Here, here, Rory chimed in, looking a darker shade of green than she had been a few moments ago. - Ugh... I think Al and I have an other appointment.

With that, she disappeared into the bathroom, Lorelai falling asleep to the sounds of her daughter vommitting.

TBC


	8. Have a tuna salad

AN: Sorry it's been so long since the last chapter, but I've been having like 12 hour schooldays for a week, plus I went away for a convention this weekend. It was amazing, Clare Kramer remembering me yet again, getting to see the Kane concert, meeting several new people as well as some old ones. To go into much detail would just bore you guys, but I had a great time and I'll post pictures and stories on one of my websides for those interessted. I've now also seen the season finale and... jikes. I knew it was coming, yet seeing it... I'm wondering how they'll work through that one, but I've decided to hold off speculations until the slides for the next season are sent out. I thoroughly loved the FND especially how you could see how over Chris Lorelai was, not even a tad jealous, that's my girl... lol... the conversation between Luke and Lorelai was both wonderfull and heartbreaking at the same time. And that final scene I hate beyond anything. But I'm not amongst those supporting the dream-scenario. I'd like the scene to be a missunderstanding, because that isn't a cop-out, like making it a dream would be. Anyways, I'm not gonna speculate until I have something to speculate on. Until then I will read and write fanfiction to deal.

**emz** - yeah, I agree with you on the salad thing. There's actually a funny story behind all of that, I have a friend in the uk and when I went to visit her 2 years ago I would meet her for lunch on her workdays and it was always my choice where to go, cause I was the guest... lol, and I usually chose Burger King or McDonalds cause then I at least knew what I liked, plus it was cheaper than most other places. And my friend commented on my eating habits. I don't remember what, but it was something about either how bad it was for me, or an encouragement to eat something more healthy... Anyways, guess which one of us got food poisoning... one hint, it wasn't me. And guess what the culprit was... a tuna salad. I felt madly sorry for her, but at the same time, it's a bit ironic that it's the health nut of the two who contracts food poisoning. I've eated a lot of crap in my day, but I've not yet to this day gotten food poisoning.

**Ronata** - Thanks I had a wonderfull time, and no, I didn't bring the weather...

**smileyGGfan** - I know what you mean, fanfiction has really become my escape from many things as well. Problem is that I keep running out of new stuff to read... I read too much... lol

* * *

He looked up whenever the bell rang now. He didn't know why, or well... he did, but he wasn't ready to admitt it. Those were speculations best left alone. He had to try a different angle than the one going in his head. He _wasn't_ feeling anything out of the ordinary with her. He was concerned, that was it. It had been a while since she had come in for breakfast. It wasn't as though he hadn't seen her every single day. He knew very well that it was impossible for her to go without her coffee, but unlike coming in to breakfast, sitting down for unreasonable long time, coming up with new ways of annoying him. The past couple of weeks, she had been ordering everything to go, always with a quip, though, cause god knew she always had those stuck up her sleeve. But the minute she got her food... and her coffee, never forget the coffee, she darted out the door like a comedian running out of jokes.

That was enough of a reason for him to be conserned, right? He was _not_ missing her. Missing indicated a period of time with a person's absence, you couldn't miss someone you still saw every day. He was _not_ missing her. He was worried about her. _Worried_, that was a good word. Nothing was wrong with being worried about her. Despite her constant development of interessting new personalities, she was a creature of habit. He always knew when she was in the door, as if the frickin' bell rang in a different tune just for her, which he knew was crazy. More likely than anything else was that he knew around which times she usually popped up, and his mind just did the rest. Maybe that was why he never used to look up when the bell rang. He never had to before.

The bell rang again. He almost didn't look up. It had been one of those days where he had regretted putting that damn bell up in the first place. Kirk, Taylor, Babette looking for Miss Patty, Miss Patty looking for Babette, German tourists using a worn out, outdated dictionary to place their order, Babette looking for Miss Patty, _again_. How on earth the two women managed to miss each other, he had no idea. Counting the Breakfast and later Lunch rush, he had heard and registered that bell so many times he wanted to just reach up and yank it off. So hearing the bell again, he was tempted to go back to ignoring it.., but he didn't.

- Jeez, you look like crap, he said, wincing inwardly at his choice of words.

- Gee, take me now, sailor, Lorelai replied, smiling weakly.

She dropped her purse on the counter and slid onto a chair, her head immediately dropping onto the counter.

- We're not feeling too well, Rory explained, sliding onto the chair next to her.

- Ugh, I'm _dying_.., Lorelai groaned, her voice muffled.

- You're not dying, Luke replied, dryly.

- Sure feels like it, Lorelai mumbled, her head still on the counter.

Realizing it would be impossible to get anything, but groans out of the woman, he turned to the daughter instead.

- Seriously, what happened to her?

- Food poisoning, Rory replied, dropping her head in her hands.

- I'm never, ever, ever going back to Al's, ever again, Lorelai proclaimed. - Why'd I let you talk me into it?

- It was your idea, Rory shot back.

- I'm a sick, sick person and should never be in charge of take-out.

- Trust me, Rory groaned, rubbing her tummy. - You won't be for a long, long time to come.

Luke inwardly winced at the exchange between the two. He was aware of the amount of crap the two of them put into their bodies. Never before had he seen anyone consume as much junk as the two of them. Not to mention the loads they consumed on one of their infamous movie nights... On top of that, to hear that they actually pigged out on what only Al could call food... he wasn't sure if he even wanted to hear more. He'd warned Lorelai that one day her eating habits would punish her, but had she listened?

- So, we're here for pick-me-ups, Rory said, turning her focus once more to Luke.

- Yeah, where the hell is the coffee, Lorelai asked, banging her fist on the counter to empathise her point. - Do you not know us at all?

- Coffee will kill you, Luke stated, as he reached for the pot.

- We all have to go sometime, Lorelai quipped. - Ok, so we need comfort meals, pronto. The full works. Cheeseburgers, chili fries...

- Ooooh, and onion rings, Rory added.

Luke shook his head in disbelief. He had heard some insane orders coming from the two of them throughout the years, some of them never having been on the menu and they always had ways of making him go through with them. But enough was enough, he couldn't stand there and watch them down this amount of crap when their usual eating habits had resulted with giving them food poisoning.

- Aw, come on. Your stomachs can't possibly handle all that crap right now.

- We will never cease to amaze you, Lorelai grinned.

- I can't go through with it. I told you over and over again what that crap can do to you. If you ask me, this was inevitable and now you're gonna make it worse by stuffing yourself with all this junk? I'm sorry, I just can't let you.

Luke headed into the kitchen, intent on for once getting Lorelai to eat something that was in fact good for her. Knowing there was no way he could pull off getting her to eat anything meat-less he decided to add some tuna. At least tuna was healthy. Returning he put the plate directly in front of her with a determined look.

- What on earth do you think you're doing, she asked in shock.

- It's a tuna salad, eat, it'll be good for you.

- I swear... he's out to kill me, Lorelai exclaimed, turning to Rory, just as her hand flew to her mouth. - Ugh... even just looking at one makes me wanna...

Looking worse than she had when she first entered the diner, which Luke thought was one hell of an accomplishment, Lorelai made a dash towards the bathroom, both hands now covering her mouth. Surprised by the extreme motion, Luke just stared at the curtain for about a minute before turning back to Rory.

- What was that all about?

- That, Rory replied, pointing at the salad. - Was exactly the thing that gave us food poisoning yesterday.

- A salad, he asked in disbelief. - Wait... Lorelai ate a salad?

- Half a salad. She said she wanted to make you proud, Rory shrugged. - Either that or just give you no reason to lecture her for a month.

- And you're positive that the salad was what did it, cause honestly it sounds like one of Lorelai's excuses.

- When she first said it, I gotta admitt I wasn't that convinced, but then again, it was the only thing both of us had and this morning before mom got up, I did a little research and it's not really that uncommon. Vegetables can be bacteria infested when getting in touch with bad meat and because you don't cook a salad there's no way of getting rid of the bacterias. So it's the meat's fault, but it's the salad that makes you sick.

- You told your mom this?

- She's seen too many horrible restaurant exposés, Rory shrugged.

- I meant about the meat being the real villain.

Rory smiled slightly.

- Doesn't matter what angle you put it, you won't be able to convince her to eat anything not deepfried for at least a month. When mom puts her mind to something, she really commits.

- I was afraid of that, Luke sighed.

It was only now he noticed that Rory actually looked a bit greener.

- Hey, you allright, kid?

- I just... Do you think you could... put that... away?

- Oh, Luke said, looking down at the salad. - Sorry.

As he reached the kitchen again he heard Lorelai's voice call from behind the curtain.

- Is it gone?

- The coast is clear, Rory responded, her voice already sounding like she was recovering.

Sighing in defeat, Luke stepped out of the kitchen, pad in one hand and pen in the other. Lorelai looked a bit better, her skintone not so green anymore and she didn't look as miserable anymore.

- So, cheeseburgers, right?

- Oh yeah, and hold all the vegetables.

- Aw, come on...

- Anything that isn't fried, Lorelai demanded.

- The bread's not fried, you want me to hold that as well?

Lorelai was about to say something, probably a snappy comeback, when her phone rang.

- No cellphones, Luke stated, pointing to the sign.

- Hey, who is it, Rory asked.

- Alex, Lorelai replied, her brow raised. - I need to take this.

Surprisingly Luke felt his heart sink as he heard it. And he couldn't help, but watch Lorelai as she took her phone with her outside to talk to her... _boyfriend_. He couldn't make out from her expressions what it was about, at some parts she seemed serious, almost distant, at other parts she was smiling and laughing.

- So, he said, trying his best not to pry. - She's still seeing him, huh?

- A little while, Rory replied, as if she knew what he wanted to know. - They were going to New York for the weekend, but mom didn't feel that well, so they cut it short.

- Oh, he replied, trying his best not to sound too interessted in the information.

He busied himself with work, keeping his eyes fixed on the counter as he wiped it, feeling bad for the knot forming in his stomach. He should be happy for her, if anyone deserved something good, Lorelai did. She was an amazing mom for Rory, a great friend for him, even with the many ways she loved to annoy him. He should be happy, but why did that feel like work? He was _not_ jealous. He _couldn't_ be jealous. She had Alex now and he had Nicole, and even if that had been different, what was the chance she'd ever look in his direction?

TBC


	9. The food inspector

AN: So... Eurovision! I dunno how many of you watch that, but yay Lordi won! Ok, with that out of the way. 5 reviews... I hold out, I hold out and I hold out and 5 is all I get... Sigh You do know that reviewing makes me update quicker, right? Next chapter is already written, ready to be posted...

**Shira81** - Thank you so much for the comment. Yeah, there are so many fics that are so unrealistic I end up just closing them and not return. I'm glad that you find the fic believable and I hope that my coming chapters will give you the same experience as well.

**smileyGGfan** - I know what you mean on older fics, but I do hope you decide to leave reviews. I have some Buffy fanfiction from way back on here and it's always fun when suddenly there's a review on one of them coming in. Only time I feel awkward is when people requests sequels or continuances of those fics... lol. Great that you're preparing for summer. I still have 5 exams to go through before that freedom, yet I do take the time to write... lol. I agree, it'll be a long summer GG-wise, but with season 3 coming out on DVD, I think I'll find a way to make the time pass. I wonder what will happen first, my story reaching the end of season 3 or the DVD coming out. Only time will tell.

* * *

Luke had never seen Lorelai run. He knew she was capable of it, her energy level practicly had her bouncing off the walls on certain days, most likely from the high percentage of caffeine in her bloodstream, but still he had never seen her run. He'd seen her walk, bounce, skip, slouch, crawl, even trip through his door, but never run. Until today that was. Today she was flying past Doose's marked faster than anyone he'd seen before. If he didn't know better he would've guessed her to have been on the track team in her day. He knew why she was running as well. The Doose family reunion around the corner, and although dealing with Taylor was inevitable, you still wanted to give him a run for his money, which was what Lorelai was doing... literally.

- I swear to God, she sighed as the bell above the diner rang insessively from her slamming the door open and shut. - Longest day ever known to man.

- How's the game of cat'n mouse going, Rory asked from her seat.

- My offspring, Lorelai exclaimed. - How I have longed and longed to see your face. Stand up, I must see how much you've grown.

Knowing better than to go against any of her mother's bits, Rory stood and slowly turned around, though not without a grin on her face. Satisfied, Lorelai dumped herself onto the chair, Rory sitting back down.

- So how's the lets-give-Taylor-a-run-for-his-money race going for you, Rory asked again.

- It would've gone better if my cracked staff had been more co-operative, Lorelai sighed. - By the end of the day Michel made it his life mission to bring me every single one of Taylor's messages personally.

- Poor baby, Rory giggled.

- But I am here, I am free, hanging with my favourite daughter who would never, ever let me be stranded alone with Taylor, would you kid?

- Since I am your _favourite_ daughter, I think I can stay put for a little while.

- Good, because I'm madly hungry. Oh _Lucas_, Lorelai shouted, batting her eye lashes.

- Don't call me that, Luke reprimanded, rolling his eyes.

He knew the day Mia had revealled his full name to her, that Lorelai would use it insessively. But even though he was annoyed beyond anything, he was glad to see some balance returning between them, although he still was unsure on whatever had caused the awkward periods between them in the first place.

- I need a cheeseburger, Lukey-boy, Lorelai said, sweetly.

- See, that's not much better, Luke grumbled, but wrote her order down.

- And remember..., Lorelai warned.

- I know, he said, cutting her off.

He returned to the kitchen to prepare her special order, he could feel Lorelai's eyes on him even back there, probably because she was eyeing him, though not for the reasons he wished for.

- Do not go there, Danes, he mumbled to himself.

Trying to take his mind of Lorelai, he put all his focus and energy on making the burger, although burgers required very little attention. Finishing up, he was tempted to place it on a free order of salad, but knowing Lorelai's vendetta against vegetables, she would most likely send it back to him and demand to have it redone. Sighing in defeat he exited the kitchen, seeing Rory up at the counter, talking to Jess.

- I thought your mom wanted you with her.

- I am in the room, aren't I, she challenged. - It's okay, she gave me a hallway pass on account of your busy work schedual.

- Maybe I should take some extra shifts, then, he teased, leaning closer to her.

- Oh, don't you dare, she mock-scolded him, leaning back to him.

Still not being comfortable with the teens flirtatious looks, Luke decided to interrupt the moment.

- Hey, Jess.

- Hey, the teen replied, as he casually backed two paces.

- Just got off work, Luke inquired.

- Yup.

- Good, I'm short on help, so if you don't mind working an hour or two, earn some extra cash?

- Whatever you say, uncle Luke.

- Good, take this to Lorelai, tell her it's vegetable free.

Jess coughed and Luke unmistakable heard the word _'whipped'_ come out inbetween the coughs. Nonetheless the teen took the plate and carried over to the table with proper manners. Raising his brows, Luke was impressed. Hand it to the Gilmore girls to straighten him out, what was it with Gilmores and their hold on Danes boys? Not that Jess was a Danes, more like half a Danes. Luke was hardly a boy anymore and he wasn't about to admitt that Lorelai Gilmore ever had any power over him, she would never let him live it down. The combinations of his trail of thoughts and Lorelai looking up at that very moment, made him immediately look down, picking up a rag to wipe the counter, that was an easy and safe task to do.

- So, Rory, he said, trying to start up a casual, non-chalant conversation to cover up his staring at her mother. - You doing allright?

- I could use a refill, she hinted. - But other than that I'm fine.

- Coming right up, he promised and turned around to get the pot.

He had only turned around for a couple of seconds, five at the most, but when he turned to pour Rory a refill, his eyes strayed instantly to Lorelai at the table.

- What on earth is she doing, he exclaimed as he observed Lorelai inspecting the burger with both a magnifying glass and a flashlight. - Didn't she believe me when I said it was vegetable free?

- You're kidding me, right, Rory asked. - After the scinister tomato incident last week?

- I'm never gonna live that one down, am I, he sighed.

- You've meddled with a Gilmore's diet, Rory stated. - Trust needs to be rebuilt.

- So from now on, she's gonna do that every single time she comes over here?

- Don't worry, you're not the only person she's doing this to, Rory assured him. - She even brought them with her to Friday Night Dinner.

- You're serious, Luke asked in disbelief.

He knew Lorelai was nothing short of crazy and that he shouldn't be surprised with anything she came up with, but he did sometimes feel himself caught off-guard with some of Lorelai's ideas. Rory was now laughing at the memory.

- I think it's the first time I've seen grandma send mom to the livingroom without dinner. Mom said she was tempted to make it a regular thing, but then grandma made us stay an hour longer to make up for the lost time at dinner, so I think she won't do that again.

- Maybe I should kick her out, too, Luke grumbled.

- Oh no, Rory exclaimed. - If you kick us out too, we'll have no place to eat. We'll starve. You don't want us to starve, do you?

Rory was giving him the puppy eyes. How he hated the puppy eyes. There hadn't been a single time he could remember where he had been able to resist the puppy eyes.

- So I should expect this to happen a lot, he asked.

- Give it a week, maybe, Rory shrugged.

- Just promise me something, Luke asked, already admitting his defeat. - Make her eat a fruit or something when you get home?

- I'll try, Rory sincerely promised.

- Good.

TBC


	10. No apple, no coffee

AN: Ahhh 1 exam down 4 to go, plus watching some shows. Anyone who hasn't seen "The 4400" yet, do so. I watched the first season yesterday and it was just great. And I finally got my copy of Charmed season 6 in the mail. Oh and the date on when the bill had to be paid... 06.06.06 LMAO! I also bought a juice expiring on that date... It's fun :P On with more story related bits. I'm glad to see several more reviews for chapter 8 coming in after I posted chapter 9. And glad to see playing nicely again.

**sarahb2007** - Glad to see you're enjoying the story. You want hints? What kind of writer would I be if I revealled my plans for you. It would ruin the joy of finding out as the story comes along. All I can say is that you'll just have to follow the story. Whatever happens will happen when it happens. Do I know when it is? Yes. Will I tell you? No. :P

**GGRox07** - Hi, nice to see you back. Is the story building up to something? Would it be a story if it wasn't? Wait in suspense like everyone else.

**scubaluver** - I guess my phrasing can once in a while be awakward. I mean I think speak and even dream in english a lot of the time, but I'm still a norwegian in the core and sometimes norwegian words, phrases and sentence structure will come out. I try to avoid it the best I can, but we all have our slip-ups. I'm sorry that you saw the chapter as a filler. Thing is that even though things seem slow and uneventfull it's part of the process. In other stories I've written I've made a jump from event to event and I found myself wanting to do something different. I want to tell the stuff inbetween as well. Although nothing is truly a filler. Each chapter is in it's own way important to the story, but it might take you some chapters to find out exactly what.

**smileyGGfan** - Where are you! Are you lying injured in a ditch somewhere? Please post a review soon, I'm getting worried when my little novelist isn't anywhere to be seen. I miss you! pout

* * *

Lorelai was walking towards the diner, taking the longest route known to man. She didn't know why she was so nervous about going in there on her own. The last couple of weeks she had been in there several times and even managed that great friendly banter bit with Luke. But she had had Rory with her every single time. She had never looked at her daughter as neither trouble nor a burden ever in her life. Not having her at sixteen, not raising her on her own at seventeen and especially not now. She always thought of her kid as an exceptional child and was never reluctant to tell her exactly that, but the one power Rory posessed that the teen wasn't aware of was she managed to keep her mother completely grounded on certain matters. Whenever Lorelai felt the need to either give in or run away, she fought the urge for Rory's sake. Luke was more in Rory's life than Max had been and just look at the trouble _that_ had caused.

So it was for Rory's sake Lorelai was now doing this. If she couldn't get her friendship with Luke back to normal for her own sake, she would do it for Rory. She could now see Luke's across the square and the dilemma began. Either she could take the fast route, rip the bandaid and just take the trip through the town Gazebo, or she could chicken out, take the long route and probably make Patty, Babette or possibly both believe that she and Luke were fighting.

- Come on, Gilmore, she muttered. - Baby steps.

As if her feet had heard her they began taking her across the square, through the town Gazebo, one step at a time. Leaving her no time to think out an opening quip, they took her through the door into Luke's Diner. Just her luck, there was no one else. The one time she actually wished for Kirk's presence and he wasn't there to cause distractions in case she messed up. There was no chaperone of any kind to make sure she behaved, nor was there anyone to witness in case she slipped up. Perfect recipy for disastard and she was stuck. If she turned and walked out, Luke would know something was up, so that wasn't even an option.

- Do what you came here to do, she whispered to herself.

Luke hadn't yet looked up, he was busy wiping the counter. He did that a lot nowadays, Lorelai noted. Maybe, if she managed to get back that laid back friend thing they used to have going for them, she could ask him why. He still hadn't looked up, as if he hadn't even registered that someone was in fact in the room with him. Lorelai was unsure on what to do. Should she make a noise, like a hark, a cough, say something... register her presence in one way or an other? Or should she take advantage of the situation and see exactly how jumpy Luke could get? Before she had managed to make up her mind, Luke finally looked up. His face was completely unreadable and the only reaction she got was a sigh. Normally a sigh would indicate something, a mood, but it told her nothing. Was he annoyed? Tired? Angry? Had she done anything lately to make hime either? Of course she had, she was Lorelai Gilmore, everything about her annoyed him. But what specificely had it been? Then it finally hit her.

- I'm unarmed, she joked, raising her hands. - See? No flashlight. No magnifying glass. My days as a food inspector are over. Honest.

This caused Luke to break into a smile. _Man, he should do that more often..._

- No, he chuckled. - I'm just to finally see someone who doesn't give a damn about hockey.

- Poor baby, she teased. - Had a rough day?

- It's just all those people with their pennants and buttons, coming in all the time...

- Okay, you do know the concept of how customers equals money, right?

- ...and all they can ever talk about is frickin' hockey, Luke continued, ignoring her comment. - Seriously, you'd think the town's never been in a semi-regional playoffs before.

- But hasn't it been like fourty years, Lorelai asked, raising her brow.

- For the hockey team, sure. They pretty much stink anyways, but back when I was on the track team, we went to state three times in four years and won it twice. Think they put up banners or carried buttons for that? They couldn't care less.

- Now see, sweetie, Lorelai replied. - That's cause track is for dorks. I am really sorry you had to find out this way.

Luke rolled his eyes at her and motioned for her to sit down, while turning around to get the coffee pot.

- I assume, he said, as he poured her coffee. - That you came with the intention to eat something not even qualified as real food.

- Always, Lorelai grinned. - I want... a cheeseburger, no veggies.

- Please tell me Rory got you to eat at least one fruit, vegetable... something.

- Well, I've had strawberry, Lorelai replied.

Luke gave her a suspicious look.

- Pop-tart, Lorelai admitted. - But hey... apples, there's been apples.

- As in holding an apple in your hand and eating it, Luke challenged.

- Okay, okay, so it was apple pie, Lorelai scoffed. - But I still think that counts.

- Pie has jam in it, the jam is already filled with sugar, which takes away the whole healthy aspect of the apple in the first place, then the pie itself is filled with sugar and you're worse off than you were before, Luke lectured.

- It's still chunks of fruit and I've eaten it, so I think I deserve props for that.

- When you eat a fruit, a whole fruit in front of me, then I'll give you props. Until then...

He left the rest of his words just hanging in the air.

- Where does this leave the whole feeding me issue, Lorelai queried.

- A cheeseburger comes with a set of vegetables. If you want one you'll have to order the whole thing. No picking anything off, no flashlight, no magnifying glass. You eat what you get.

- Vegetables are no friends of mine, Lorelai stated. - The one time I tried eating healthy, Rory and I stayed up sick all night long. I'm not looking to repeat that.

- First of all, I wouldn't call anything coming from Al's healthy. I'm not even gonna go into your obvious lack of common sense when you first decided to eat there in the first place. Secondly, I even know for a fact that not even your parents are letting you off the hook on this.

- How did you?

- Rory.

- Traitor, Lorelai pouted.

- Here, Luke said, placing an apple in front of her. - Eat this and I'll make you a cheeseburger without vegetables. No lecture.

- I'm a grown woman, you can't tell me what to eat, she objected.

- No, but I can withold your coffee, Luke replied, calmly.

- You wouldn't.

- Try me.

- Fiend, Lorelai exclaimed. - Sadist.

She looked down on the fruit in front of her and sighed in defeat.

- You got anything smaller?

Luke simply ignored her and went back to wiping the counter once more. Feeling more and more hungry by the minute, she finally bit into the apple. What felt like ten minutes passed, though it was probably two minutes tops, maybe less. Time always felt longer when nothing happened. Suddenly a strange thought crossed her brain and she chuckled.

- What, Luke asked, looking up.

- You know, I haven't eaten one of these since I was pregnant with Rory.

- There's actually been a time where you volunterely ate fruit, Luke asked, brow raised.

- No, not fruit, just apples. They were my pregnancy food. I downed like twenty apples a day. Worst of all, I'm not even exaggerating.

- Then how come Rory's not big on apples, Luke pondered.

- Have you ever seen kids eat pickled ice cream? Olives dipped in mustard?

Luke gave her a look.

- Hey, that's what most women end up craving. If cravings really meant anything kids would have very weird tastebuds. Just because my cravings were more... _normal_?

She chuckled again.

- Funny how out of all people, I'm the one ending up craving apples.

- Makes sense, if you think about it, Luke said. - You don't normally eat fruit or vegetables unless you're forced to, so when you're pregnant your body signals that it's lacking in important food groups and thereby makes you crave it.

- Really, Lorelai asked. - Pickled ice cream is an important food group? Hmm... you learn something every day. Hey, maybe you should start serving it. After all we've now scientificly proven it's importance to a growing body. Maybe we could put in a requirement, one bowl of picked ice cream a day to keep the doctor away...

- Lorelai, Luke groaned and shook his head in annoyance.

She only giggled in reply. Annoying Luke was like opening a present on christmas morning, you could simply never have enough. Things fell silent. Luke obviously had nothing more to say on the subject of pregnancy cravings. How on earth had the conversation even taken that turn? Sometimes even _she_ marvelled at the random thoughts popping up in her brain, then she looked down and saw what was left of the apple in her hand...

- Oh, _Lukey_, she said, dangling the evidense of Lorelai Gilmore consuming a whole fruit in front of him. - I've finished my part of the agreement and I'm collecting my reward.

- All right, Luke sighed, surprisingly ignoring the fact that she had called him _Lukey_. - I did promise you.

By the time he placed what Lorelai was happy to confirm to be a vegetable-free cheeseburger, all conversations had come to one screetching halt. Or well... screetching would indicate there being any sort of sound made and there were no sounds in the diner, other than the noise of Lorelai carefully chewing each bite taken of the burger that was. And it wasn't really that comfortable silence either. Luke seemed to occupy himself by doing what seemed to be unimportant, bordering on filler tasks to keep himself busy. Lorelai was eating, so logically she was occupied, but both her and Luke knew that didn't mean a thing. Not even when eating was Lorelai one to be quiet. She searched her brain for something to say, a thought, an idea, a story. If this had been a normal night, what would she be talking about?

- Hey, want to hear something funny, she finally asked.

- Funny how, Luke asked, suspisiously.

- Well it involves Emily Gilmore and the words _purple jogging suit_.

- Your mom wore a purple jogging suit today, Luke asked, raising his brows.

- No, Lorelai giggled, trying to picture her mom letting herself be caught wearing a jogging suit in public, or even just around the house, not to mention a purple one. - Although that would've been an interessting story as well. Do you want the short version or the long?

- Lets start with the short, Luke said, putting away the rag he was holding, placing both hands on the counter to give her his full attention.

- Okay, like I said, mom wasn't wearing the purple jogging suit. She did however hide in some bushes for a couple of hours.

Luke raised his brows and leaned closer as if he needed to hear better what she was saying.

- Let me get this straight. Emily Gilmore, your mother, hid in some bushes for a couple hours, because of a purple jogging suit?

Lorelai nodded, nervously. This wasn't an uncommon closeness between them. She could recall several moments prior to this where they had been in the same position. However all of them had happened long before anything had changed. Then again, to Luke nothing had really changed. He didn't remember it. He was still in very much belief that they had gotten drunk, had a heart to heart and she had somehow managed to stumble her way home. And she was the reason he believed that. He would've known differently if she had just not panicked and just stayed put. Would he still have gone out on that date with Nicole? Would she still be dating Alex? Now, that closeness felt wrong. Or more accurately it felt right, but in a very wrong way.

He had a girlfriend, she had a boyfriend. And she wasn't even interessted in Luke. She _wasn't_. She was just still confused about drunkenly taking comfort in him when she was upset. That was it. And no matter how confused she was she just couldn't let herself ruin her relationship with Alex, no matter how big the chance of ending it soon was, more importantly she couldn't let herself ruin the one relationship she'd seen Luke in since Rachel. And most important of all, she couldn't let herself ruin her friendship with Luke. No matter how much she wanted to just lean in and kiss him. _Keep talking, Gilmore._

- I got you hooked, now, don't I, she joked, replacing the nervous smile with what she hoped he would think was a teasing one.

- I think I'll have to demand the long story now, he confirmed.

- Okay, so I'm having dinner with mom, dad and grandma.., she started. - And mom were... I'd say not herself, but in a way more herself than she usually was. I know that sounds weird, but try to follow me here...

She found herself diving into the detailes on the story of her mother hiding in the bushes, spying on her grandmother and the stranger in the jogging suit. Whenever she found herself meeting his eyes, she darted her gaze somewhere else. Because looking into his eyes reminded her of what she wanted to do, but couldn't. What was it with when things were forbidden, they somehow became even more tempting? Was that it? Was it the whole thing with him being forbidden fruit that made her more aware of him? Or was it that she hadn't really _looked_ into those eyes before?

TBC


	11. I would like a Monte Christo sandwich

AN: Awww, how lovely to see reviewing back to normal. And how great it felt to do some writing today. Fingers just flew over the keyboard and for me that's always good. I have an exam on monday, but if reviews are good, I might have an other chapter for you before the weekend is over. Ok, onto individual comments.

**smileyGGfan** - You're _back_! Drops everything and runs over and hugs you. Of course you were missed, out of all reviews I get, across all of my fics, yours is the most in-dept and thorough ones. I love reading them. I catch myself reading them over and over again. I'm glad you're not in a ditch and I agree with you on leaving them for Chris. Yeah I agree that Luke does have some power, even though he has no puppy eyes and a hair flip to go for him, he has other ways of affecting and taking care of Lorelai. I just chose to let him do something direct. It was only right that he took an immediate stand after Lorelai's vegetable-free weeks. Interessting prediction, of course I will say nothing about it, because what happens, happens when it happens. As for the quotes, yeh, the characters talk in my head. Sometimes a scene I had intended to be short can go on for pages because the characters simply won't shut up and let me find a natural ending. And I didn't even think about the fruit paralell. Looks like you're turning into one of those "crazy internet people"... lol, welcome to the club ;)

**flckr** (steph) - lol, maybe Lorelai will get a second chance to scare him. We'll just have to wait and see what the situation offers.

* * *

Lorelai buried her head in her hands, trying to block away the insessive tapping from Lane's drumsticks. Each tap felt like a screwdriver being jammed into her head and although she loved the girl as if she was her own kid, right there and then she was just seconds from ringing her neck. However remembering the love she held for the girl as well as the wish she had to not kill her kid's best friend since kindergarthen, what Lorelai did was reaching over and putting her hand over the drumsticks forcing them into permanently rest on the table.

- Lane, honey. The sticks... can you..?

- Oh, sorry, Lane apologised. - Just... nervous habit, I guess.

- Mom's a little crabby this morning, Rory explained.

- I'm not crabby, Lorelai objected. - I'm very, very ill.

- With allergies, Rory added.

- _Deadly_ allergies. My eyes and nose are running, my head is aching along with every other part of my body, Lorelai groaned. - These are allergies from hell.

- Sorry, didn't mean to minimize your condition. Should we start making funeral arrangements?

- Yes, Lorelai replied, fetching some pills from her purse. - But by chance this stuff actually works, I want you to make all deposits refundable.

- Duly noted, Rory replied, before leaning over to see what was in Lorelai's hand. - Hey, where did you get those?

- Found them in your room, Lorelai shrugged.

- Let me see that, Rory demanded as she snatched them out of her mother's hands. - _Mom_, these expired in like 98'.

- So, I should take four?

- Exactly my point, Rory said, sarcasticly, before looking over towards the counter. - Hey, Luke, can we order yet? Cause I'm starving.

- Has she finished it, yet, Luke replied.

Rory sighed in defeat and turned her gaze back to her mom.

- Mom, when are you just gonna give in? You know you will eventually, you can't live without his food, not to mention his coffee.

- I'm a grown woman, he can't make me do anything I don't wanna do.

Lorelai scowled at the still uneaten apple that Luke had plopped down in front of her as she had come into the diner. The nerve of him. Just because she had given in one evening didn't mean she'd join some crazy fruit convention or something. And to top it all with saying he wouldn't even serve them coffee until she ate it.

- Mom, he's only doing this cause it's good for you. There's no harm in it. It's just a piece of fruit, it won't harm you in any way.

- It's not the fruit, it's the principle of the matter, Lorelai pouted.

- Well the principle of the matter is, I am gonna starve unless you eat that. Come on, you said you'd do anything for me, all I'm asking you is to eat something that's good for you, for all our sakes. It's not that bad.

- Fine, Lorelai sighed in defeat and took a bite. - Hey Luke?

- One bite doesn't even equal a drop of coffee.

- But a whole fruit equals a large meal plus refills and dessert? What is your measuring scale, Richter's?

- Just eat the damn thing, he shot back.

- I am, I was just hoping you could bring one for Rory, too, Lorelai replied, as she smiled sweetly at her daughter. - After all it _is_ good for you.

- It'll be my pleasure, Luke grinned.

- Traitor, Rory scowled as she too was handed an apple.

- If _I_ have to, so do you, missy. After all, you're still growing.

- How conciderate, Rory replied as she bit into her apple.

Lorelai glared at Luke who was with a customer by the window at that moment, taking an order. She could almost feel his satisfied smirk that _he_ had gotten both the Gilmore girls to eat something healthy. However, the joke was on him, now that she'd actually consumed a whole fruit in front of him, it was payback time. Maybe she'd order whipped cream on _everything_, two cans only for her. She'd do that and he wouldn't be able to complain at all. It was a plan.

Just as Rory finished off her apple as well, Luke came bearing coffee and menues. No coffee-lecture, no glare. He didn't have the right. As he poured the coffee with one hand, he handed out the menues with the other.

- Here, he gruffed, putting the pot down as he took up his pad to take their order.

- Why did you get new menues, Lorelai asked, not believing what she was seeing.

- It was time, Luke shrugged.

Time? _Time_! Why would Luke feel it was time? Mr I-don't-like-change himself...

- B-But I had made little doodles with my name hidden in them on each one of the old ones, just like Hirchfeld, Lorelai complained.

- Sorry, Luke shrugged.

- It took me years to hit every menu, Lorelai continued. - And these have super heavy plastic over them. How am I gonna doodle?

- Has it ever occurred to you that the super heavy plastic is there to discourage the doodling?

It was as if he was laying down barriers for her fun. A menu you couldn't doodle in? What kind of place had those? And what with the old ones, would they go to good homes or was it trash-bin death for each and every one of them? Rory was right. She never should've named them. She looked down at the new one in her hand. Would permanent marker stick? Maybe she could bring one of those pins and cut in her initials at the back of each. Would that be called vandalism or simply a challenge? Feeling too hungry to think more of the doodling-issue right there and then, she opened it up and immediately noticed there being serious changes.

- There are more salads, she pointed out.

- Three, Rory confirmed.

- Like one wasn't enough...

- He's trying to convert us.

- Oh my God, you're right, Lorelai exclaimed. - It starts small, an apple, before you know it he'll have us drinking _herbal tea_.

- You've turned to the dark side, Luke, Rory shuddered.

- Well Nicole said...

- Nicole said?

Lorelai couldn't help but feel uneasy at the very mention of her name. And she felt really stupid about it too. It wasn't as though she had any right to dislike the woman. She hadn't really seen her and Luke that much together, but so far she seemed like a perfectly nice woman. It wasn't as though she had asked Luke to dress up, when he took her out on that date, or force him to overlook his rules on cellphones for her. The menues probably came from a mere side-mention from one of her and Luke's conversations. And Lorelai hated it. She hated not having a valid reason to hate the woman Luke was seeing. And to make matters worse, Luke accidentally bumped into her as he picked the pot up to give her a refill while he still avaited her order, sending down her spine and back up to her head. _Just admitt it, Gilmore. You're jealous._ No. She wasn't jealous. She couldn't be jealous. Luke wasn't hers to own, if he wanted to change, no matter how little she liked it, she had no reason to stop him.

- She said there wasn't that much for her on the menu, so I just...

- Oh, Lorelai replied. - You added three more salads just for Nicole. When I asked you to ad chili-topped Pringles, you said no.

- Still do, Luke replied.

- How come Nicole gets three salads and I still get a no?

- Because Nicole is his girlfriend, Rory explained.

_Sure, rub it in._ Okay, maybe she was a little jealous.

- Nicole is not my girlfriend, she's the woman I'm dating. That's it.

Knowing she was only putting herself up for more misery, Lorelai couldn't help herself.

- So what happens when you guys get serious? The whole place goes soy?

- Lorelai, Luke begged. - Just order.

- Did you take off the Monte Cristo sandwich, Lane asked.

- No, Rory exclaimed in disbelief.

- You _did_, Lorelai exclaimed. - You took off the Monte Cristo sandwich.

- I omitted a few obsolete dishes.

- I can't believe Nicole made you take off the Monte Cristo, Lorelai trailed off. - She's got you _menu-wipped!_

- She does not, Luke groaned. - I took off a disguisting ridiculous sandwich that no one has ever ordered, including the three of you.

- But having it there made us feel like we always could, Rory pouted.

- Yeah, you took away our choice. Our freedom, Lorelai added dramaticly. - You removed an important food option.

- As well as an important conversation item, Rory continued.

- That's it, my head is set on it. I want the Monte Cristo sandwich.

- You do not, Luke replied.

- I guess we never know what we have until we've lost it, Lorelai shrugged. - I am just so dead set on the Monte Cristo, that ordering anything else would be an offence.

- Fine, Luke exclaimed, heading to the counter and back. - Old menues, everything's there. Knock yourselves out. I'll bring you your sandwich.

- How come everybody else gets a new meny, Lorelai asked.

Groaning, Luke took the pot and headed back to the counter.

- I feel much better now, Lorelai grinned.

Luke returned less than two minutes later, placing the well discussed Monte Cristo sandwich in front of Lorelai.

- You're still not gonna eat that, he chuckled.

- To your information I'm starved and simply can't wait to sink my teeth into that sandwich, Lorelai replied.

- Mom, are you sure, Rory asked, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

- Why? It looks yummy, Lorelai said as she took the first bite.

She revelled in the disbelieving looks coming from both Luke and Rory as she piece by piece consumed the sandwich in front of their very own eyes. When the sandwich was gone and no one said anything, Lorelai picked her coffee cup up, gesticulating to a very stunned Luke that she wanted a refill.

- I can't believe you just ate that, Rory said in very much denial.

- Don't worry, Lorelai whispered, as she leaned towards her daughter. - The allergies got my tastebuds completely shot, I could've eated carboard and I wouldn't know the differance...

- Good to know.

- So, Luke said, as he returned to the table, mug in hand. - You two heard from Harvard yet?

- No, not yet, Rory replied.

- ...that we know of, Lorelai added.

- But we will definately get it soon.

- What's with the 'that you know of' thing, Luke asked.

- Well, we were gonna check the mail for big envelopes, Lorelai said.

- ...cause big means 'yes', Rory explained.

- ...and small means 'try again next year, looser'.

- They're not gonna be calling people loosers, Rory objected.

- Well, not to their faces anyway...

- _Mom_.

- Okay, maybe they'll use a couple of synonymes, but it'll still be the same.

- I think we're loosing him, doc, Rory pointed out.

- Back to the story, got it, Lorelai grinned. - So we went to check it and Kirk is taking forever to go through the mail, so we figured to hit the mail on the way home instead.

- Wait, what is Kirk doing going through your mail, Luke asked.

- Haven't you heard, Lorelai gasped. - And here I thought dating meant coming out of the cave you live in. Kirk's our new mail man.

- You're joking.

- Afraid not, Rory said. - He's been delivering the mail the past week at least.

- Kirk's the new mail man, Luke asked, still in disbelief.

- Yep.

- God help this town.

TBC


	12. She is changing him

AN: Okay so I messed up when I started writing. You all know that I haven't seen all of season 3. Well I had made the assumption that Sookie found out her pregnancy a little sooner than it turned out to be. Instead of going back and changing it, I'm just gonna work with it, but just so you know, I'm all aware of the mistake. Oh and I made an illustration for this story:

http / shades-of-moonlight . com / sig-comfort-food . jpg

**JJSoulmatesLL** - I mostly stay away from scenes that actually happened on the show and make up my own before, after and inbetween, but sometimes, once in a while there comes a scene that is of such importance for the story that I just can't skip it. Yes, the scene from "The Big One" is very much base for this one and I did use some dialogue from it, however I think you're exaggerating. I minimised the use as much as I could, added bulks of my own. The chapter is hardly a direct copy, I'd say about 50 of that chapter were completely my own add-ons, and most of that add-on was in fact dialogue. I'm sorry that you feel cheated with the chapter, hopefully this and the next one will explain how nessesary last chapter was.

**GGRox07** - Aw, poor thing with the allergies. Lets hope you find those pills Lorelai found, then.

**smileyGGfan** - Well believe it and keep them coming, set an example for others as well :) Like I said above here, I do sometimes take scenes from the show if it's nessesary for the storyline, but I don't present them exactly as the show did cause that wouldn't be any fun. Glad to hear my updates are addictive, those are things that helps the writing go faster.

* * *

She hadn't been able to get Luke and the menu ordeal out of her mind since leaving the diner. It had been on her mind as she had gone through her now perfected morning routine at the inn. She had inwardly and partly outwardly rambled on about it in the car on her way to the pharmacy, the same on the way back. And even now, as she was watching Sookie cut vegetables, a most mundane, yet strangely fascinating task, was the thoughts impossible to get out of her head. Between the thoughts and the zen-like trance from watching the quick, yet determined way her friend cut the vegetables going into the soup, she completely missed what Sookie was even talking about.

- I'm sorry, what, Lorelai said, as she snapped out of her trance.

- Wow, you were really far away, weren't you?

- Yeh, I guess the allergies are putting me a bit off, Lorelai explained, hoping Sookie didn't ask further. - What were you saying?

- I was just wondering if you've heard from Harvard yet, I mean, it's that time right?

- Any day now, Lorelai sighed. - We were gonna check this morning, but Kirk is determined to go into Stars Hollow history as the slowest mailman ever.

- How's that going?

- Not quite up with Two-Cane Joe, but he's getting there. Anyway, so Rory and I decided to just hit Luke's and check the mail when we get home.

- You'll tell me the minute you find out, right?

- Sook, we'll be running straight for you. You'll be baking the celebration cake.

- I'd be offended if I wasn't, Sookie giggled. - I can make old Gothic letters to put on it. I think Rory would love it, make it more sofisticated, you know. Ooo, I'll use white choccolate...

Lorelai chuckled as she watched her friend get more and more lost in her cake rant. If she knew Sookie as well as she thought she did, what was meant to be a celebration cake for Rory's getting into Harvard, would most likely become a masterpiece to be spoken of for years to come. She said _when_ Rory was getting into Harvard, cause there was just no way her little girl wouldn't make it. Not ever had she seen a more determined kid to make it. People would probably say Paris was more determined, but Lorelai wasn't convinced. Paris was programmed, driven by family pressure which again had turned into personal ambition. Rory on the other hand was completely self driven. And Lorelai couldn't be prouder. So where was this feeling coming from? The uneasy ache in her gut? She wanted this for Rory. She deserved it, she worked hard, she was the good kid Lorelai never was. But getting the acceptance letter from Harvard would only finalize the one thing Lorelai just wasn't ready for. Her kid slipping away, moving out, making her way in the world. In just a few short months she'd be living in a dorm, far away from her. She knew it was inevitable, had known for months, so why was it all of a sudden much harder to think about it now? Yesterday she had been just as exstatic as Rory. Why not now? _Because you didn't think Luke would slip away too._

She hated it when that little voice inside her head was right. Luke was changing, slipping away. Aside for Rory, he was one of the steady people in her life, someone she could count on. She had even told him so a while back, but now he didn't feel like _her_ Luke anymore. Okay so he had never truly been _her_ Luke, a drunken comfort she couldn't even remember didn't make him hers. He was _Nicole_'s Luke. And Lorelai didn't like it.

- Sweetie, are you okay, Sookie asked.

- What?

- I asked if you were okay. You kinda zoned out on me again.

- Sorry, it's just... What do you think of Nicole?

- Whoa, random... I dunno, I've just seen her around. But Luke likes her, and that must mean something. I mean, Luke doesn't exactly let too many people close.

- No, you're right about that, Lorelai sighfully agreed.

- What made you ask, Sookie asked, brows raised.

- It's just, don't you think she's changing him a lot?

- What do you mean?

- I mean with the way he gets GQ-ed up whenever he takes her out. Wearing those black pants, shirt and the leather jacket.

- Sweetie, _you_ bought him those clothes.

- Yeah, my point exactly. I bought him those clothes, but I had to force him to even try them on. Then she shows up and he's wearing them all the time.

- Sweetie, I love you, you know that, but I think you're blowing this way out of porpotion. Everybody gets dressed up for a date. Wanting to look nice for Nicole, Luke picked out the most dressy he had in the closet, which only were in there because you bought them for him.

- He never did for Rachel. Whenever she was around it was like a flannel convention.

- You're forgetting that Rachel's known Luke for years, they go way back. He doesn't have the same need to impress her, they're past that. He's just met Nicole, they're still getting to know each other.

- It's not just the clothes, it's the other things as well.

- What other things, Sookie wondered.

- Like, when me, Rory and Lane were gonna order this morning, Luke came and handed out _new_ menues.

- Well you did doodle all over the old ones, I guess it was just time, Sookie shrugged, obviously not understanding what Lorelai was acting up about.

- No, not _new_ as in new covers, although that too was new, with hard cover plastic to discourage my artistic doodling, I might add. I'm saying, he changed the _menu_.

- He changed the _menu_? Luke? As in having-the-same-special-for-three-straight-years Luke? What did he change?

- He added salads.

- Salads?

- Three. The dish from hell and he added three.

- For Nicole?

- For Nicole.

- Wow, and you know that for sure? Did he say that was why?

- Yeah, I mean I asked about the salads and he mentioned that she had mentioned something about salads and all of a sudden he's adding them on, for _her_. I'm not even gonna begin on the whole eliminating the Monte Cristo.

- _No_, Sookie exclaimed. - That's been on, like forever. He took _that_ off!

- _Yes_. So, of course I felt it to be my civic duty to order it.

- _No_. You ordered the Monte Cristo? Did you eat it? You didn't eat it, did you?

- I ate it, Lorelai confirmed.

- _No_. Is it any good? Do you think I'd like it?

- I have no idea.

- But you ate the sandwich.

- I ate the sandwich, Lorelai confirmed again.

- And you have no idea if I'd like it.

- I have no idea if I'd like it. My allergies had my nose completely blocked up, he could've served me cardboard and I wouldn't know the differense. However these pills are doing wonders, so if I'm to judge by the aftertaste of it, I wouldn't recommend it even for my enemies. Well, maybe Emily Gilmore...

- When did you start taking pills, Sookie pondered.

- Since allergy season started early. I was out of meds, since I didn't think it'd start up this soon and all I could find were some expired ones that didn't do the trick at all, so I went to the pharmacy. Oh, and guess who I happened to run into there.

- Your mom?

- Honestly, if I had run into my mother I wouldn't be all chippery asking you to guess. I'd come in the door complaining about whatever it was that she nagged about _this_ time.

- Sorry, but I suck at guessing games, you know that.

- It was Max, Lorelai answered, giving into her friend's plea.

- Max... _your_ Max? Rory's teacher, Max?

- The one and the same, Lorelai confirmed. - I was perousing the allergy section while he was picking up cold medicine.

- He has a cold? Poor guy.

- He'll live, Sook, Lorelai chuckled.

- So what was it like? You guys haven't seen each other in, what... a year?

- Try a year and a half. Apparently he's been in California, teaching at Stanford.

- Stanford, wow. That's good, isn't it?

- Yeah, that's good.

- But how was it like seeing him again?

- Kinda weird, I half-way expected him to hate me, but it wasn't like that at all. He's actually pretty content with his life. Pointed out that us not getting married turned out to be a good thing. He got opportunities he wouldn't've gotten if we had gone through with it. Plus he said he knew I didn't love him.

- That's sad.

- Yeah, Lorelai agreed. - But he seems to be fine with it all. Then he had to go and we said 'see you'.

- You're gonna see him again, Sookie asked, clearly surprised.

- He's gonna be at the Chilton Bicentennial, Lorelai pointed out. - What's with the tone?

- Nothing.

- It clearly was something.

- I just. Well you've been kinda obsessing with Luke and Nicole the whole day, then you run into Max, which I'd thought would be a featuring conversation topic and all you do is mention it as a side-note, as if it was an every day occurency and not the first time you see him in over a year.

- W-well the whole menu thing took me by surprise, Lorelai stuttered.

- Lorelai, I've told you this before, but please, before you shut me down. Hear me out. You're acting all jealous whenever an other woman is as much as looking at him. You're trying to make Nicole into a villain that forces Luke to do things against his will. And Max, the guy you almost married returns, and the main thing on your mind is that Luke changed his menu. Face it, sweetie, you have feelings for Luke. And unless you do something about it, you might loose your chance.

Lorelai had never before been so happy to hear a waiter returning a meal from an unsatisfied customer. Sure, she should be thinking unhappy customer equalled bad, but it was a very welcomed distraction.

- _Again_, Sookie exclaimed. - Seriously, what happened to all our nice, happy polite guests.

- Sook, what do you mean by _again_?

- It's just like these last couple of days someone's substituded all our nice, normal, friendly guests with aliens with tastebuds from hell. Dish by dish gets sent back. My food. My four star, you-haven't-lived-'til-you've-eaten-here-says-Ruth-Reichl food.

- Allright, Lorelai sighed, trying to take control of the situation. - What did they say was wrong?

- You name it. Too salty, too hot, too sewer-y.

- Whoa, that last one didn't sound too good.

- You think!

- And you're sure there's nothing wrong with the food.

- Yes, I've tasted every single dish sent back. Nothing is wrong, if anything I've outdone myself.

- You mind if I try it?

- You don't believe me?

- I believe you, but it's easier to handle this if I can actually tell the customers that I've tasted the food.

- Fine, Sookie sighed. - Go ahead.

- Oh God, Lorelai groaned before darting out the door.

She made her way through the lobby and to the closest available bathroom she could find. Mere seconds after shutting the door, she felt the entire content of her stomach returning, including every single disguisting bit of that dreadful Monte Cristo sandwich.

She stayed by the toilet's side for a couple of minutes to make sure she wasn't gonna do encores. The time she spent by it's side made her start thinking about names. If she practicly was sticking her head into it, it should have a name. She finally decided on _Jason_. An other perfectly good name for a toilet. Feeling no need to regurgitate again, she stood up and went over to the sink, wiping away the remains from her mouth as well as having a few sips of water. Before exiting the room, she turned and said goodbye to her new friend, _Jason_. Giggling to herself, she was grateful the bathroom was empty, she didn't need her guests think the manager was a nutcase when they had just experienced _that_ cooking.

- Oh tastebuds, how I have missed you, she exclaimed, as she re-entered the kitchen. - The toilet in the bathroom by the lobby's called _Jason_, by the way.

- Good to know, Sookie responded.

- Okay, so here's the plan, she said, turning to the waitor in question. - The people sending the meals back, make sure they have a free dessert on the house, their choice.

- Free dessert, Sookie exclaimed. - _Free_ dessert? They're dissing my dishes and that's what you're doing!

- Sookie, I love you, okay?

- Yeah, I love you, roo.

- And you know I love your food, right? If it was legal to marry a dish, I would marry yours.

- I know all that.

- But what I just took a bite off, was nothing short of dreadful. It was as if you'd dropped horse manure in it.

- But I tested every dish.., Sookie explained. - The base, the sauce. Everything. I double-checked, triple-checked... How is it it tastes like horse manure and I can't taste it?

- You know what I think it is? I think it's the pregnancy. Your tastebuds have just been thrown way off. Far as I know, that's normal. It happened to me when I was having Rory. Now, this is something we can handle. We get you an assistant to taste before anything is served, to make sure we don't get any complaints. We can even get in one of those hard to please assistants, if that'd make you feel better.

- B-but can we even afford that, Sookie questioned. - Hiring in one more person?

- Are you kidding me? The money we save on the free desserts alone, Lorelai teased. - We'll get you that assistant pronto, in the meanwhile have Manuel help taste it or one of your other assistants. As long as someone besides you taste it and that someone doesn't have to be me, I'll be happy.

Sookie finally broke into a smile and nodded.

- It was really that bad, she asked in a small voice.

- If you don't believe me, ask _Jason_, he was sole witness.

Seeing her friend had calmed down, Lorelai headed towards the door, ackowledging that she had many tasks that needed doing and the ordeal in the kitchen had left her with less time to do them on. She only stopped in the doorway, looking back over the shoulder.

- I think you might want to ask Jackson to sample the cake before me and Rory cut into it.

TBC


	13. The Luke box

AN: Yay, finally gotten time aside to write. I had planned on getting this out two days ago, but then stupid me offered up my room for a couple of friends of mine to watch Twin Peaks, since I had the only room they could watch it in. And then a classmate sent me a song I could make a Lorelai vid to, so I did. I will add it to the misc video section soon, so people keep a watch on "Dream Universe", link can be found in my profile. On other news, I've finally dyed my hair again, it's now neon green at the top, then more foresty green further down until it's greenish black at the bottom. My head looks radioactive... lol.. Ok, on to more story notes.

_Oh oh, and a funny, **funny** notice! As you all know this is chapter 13 and I only noticed now that today is: 06.06.06! Coincidense? I think **not**!_

**smileyGGfan** - Hey darling. The reason I put in those spaces is that has a weird thing that removes url's from the documents and apparently reviews as well since your link was cut short as well (check and see your last review), why not pm me with the link, ok? I'd love to see your artwork. I'm glad you think it worked with Sookie's pregnancy, I think so too, but I wanted to make people aware on that I had realized my mistake. As for the toilet naming, let me just put it this way. The toilet isn't named after my convention buddy Jason, who shares my birthday, who is the only other Jason I know, so draw your own conclution... lol.

**Babs25** - Yeah, Sookie's a very whimsy person, but she does notice things.

**GGRox07** - Actually the naming of the toilet was a spur of the moment thing for me, it was more that when I had reached that part I remembered Lorelai's love for naming inanimate objects and with a smirk I thought of Jason... lol

* * *

Lorelai was sitting on her bed, her daughter downstairs in the livingroom, three envelopes in front of her which were about to change her future. What Lorelai had were three voices complicating her present. The first was man's voice. A voice she had heard only hours before, uttering words she had heard only hours before.

_- And apparently, I'm not over it._

Why had she kissed him? Or let him kiss her? Or whatever it was that had led to that kiss... It wasn't as though her life wasn't complicated enough, thank you very much, she had to go kiss an ex, or get kissed by an ex, she just couldn't seem to get that fact straight, could she? And it wasn't just any ex, but Max, the ex she almost married a year and a half ago, same ex she had left just days before she was supposed to go down the aisle with, to go on a roadtrip. She hadn't sat down and had that talk with him. Instead, she'd left a long rambling message on his answering machine, just because he wasn't there to pick up the exact moment she made the decision to end their engagement, and then she had just took off. Selfishly she had left it to him and the town to clean up the mess, and up until seeing him again in the pharmacy just days earlier, she imagined him to hate her, though that wouldn't be the Max she knew, or had known.

Max had once told her that he didn't believe in regrets, something he had repeated when Rory had interviewed him for the school paper. And he had repeated himself, not so directly, as much as implying, when he had assured her that it had all turned out good. Maybe it was the familliarity of her past with Max, that drove her to it. Maybe it was simply his comforting nature. She wasn't denying the sexual tension that seemed to still surround them, the attraction had never been the problem, if anything their mutual attraction had seemed to lead them into nothing but trouble, as they at several situations just couldn't keep their hands to themselves. Exactly like the situation she was currently debating. It could be that and it would be an easy answer, but deep down something told her that possibly there was something else behind it, something that wasn't even about Max. Which lead her to the second voice, the voice of her daughter in form of a simple question, uttered just ten minutes ago.

_- What about Alex?_

With the ordeal with Max she had at least showed him the curtesy of ending things before anything else started up, not that anything had or would in this case. Despite the kissing slip-up, Max was a closed chapter. But Rory had been right to ask. What about Alex? It was a completely fair question, even though the thought of it made her feel like shit. It didn't matter how she wasn't getting back together with Max, it hadn't changed the fact that she had kissed another guy. True, if she had been that person, she could've easy deny everything and act like nothing had changed, but she wasn't. Even if Alex never found out, _she_ would always know. And it would eat her up inside. Dating was supposed to mean something, damnit. It wasn't allright to go after an other guy when you were partly involved, far from it. True, she had been far from serious with Alex, hell they hadn't even slept together, but still, it was common curtesy not to kiss a guy when she was dating someone else. No wonder Rory had kissed Jess whilst still dating Dean, it wasn't as though Lorelai herself was setting much of a good example to follow. She loved sharing things with her kid, but matching dating slip-ups simply weren't one of those.

She had long ackowledged that she was never gonna be the perfect role model, so why stribe for it, but she wanted to show Rory that even she had morals that just couldn't be bended on a whim. Those morals were what kept her from telling Luke what she felt. No matter how little she liked Nicole, reason or no reason, she respected her and Luke enough not to step in the way. The third voice in her head belonged to Luke, but unlike the other two it wasn't saying anything she had heard recently.

_- I guess if you can find that one person, you know, who's willing to put up with all your crap, and doesn't want to change you or dress you or you know, make you eat French food, then it can be all right. But that's only if you find that person._

She hadn't heard those words, not even in her head, for a long while now. They were words that held high meaning for her, amongst many things those words had helped her make the decision that ending the engagement with Max was for the best. And that was long before she knew she held feelings for the person who said them. Still, they held a deep impact on her, though now the impact seemed less and less. Because Luke, who back then had said the only person worth seeing was someone who accepted you for who you were, didn't seem to be taking his own advice. He was changing and each little change felt like he was washing away any traces of Lorelai in his life, which was of course ridicculous. She had bought him the clothes he wore to his dates, however he never wore them volunterely until Nicole appeared on the scene. So now it felt like they were Nicole-clothes, not Lorelai-clothes.

Evidense of the second and more drastic change was in her hands at that moment. A Luke's menu she had swiped earlier that very same day. She wasn't even sure why she had taken it, really she felt pathetic on feeling that she needed a souvenir to hold onto the old Luke. _Why not just steal his baseball cap while you're at it?_ It probably wouldn't be long until that too was history. Although Lorelai remembered teasing Luke non-stop about the cap and his whole flannel existance, she liked him that way. It was nice, familliar and most importantly, it was him. And by buying him that blue cap about two years ago, the one he wore all the time, she had become part of Luke as well, at least she had thought so. She had meant the blue cap to be a spare one in case he lost the one he had, but funnily enough she had never again seen the gray one, like it had just vanished in thin air. And until Luke had so casually thrown the old menues out for new ones, she had thought that meant something.

The menu in her hand was one of the good old one's, each of them personalized with a little Lorelai-doodle in them. It had taken her years to finish, and now those menues were history. One more aspect of Lorelai just washed away. What came next? Would he replace the stool's at the counter with new ones? She wasn't even sure if Luke knew she had signed each of them. A task that had taken even longer and more creative sneakyness than doodling in the menues had. _Why are you marking everything at Luke's for anyway?_

She honestly didn't know. In a way, since she got to know him, she had always in one way or another been posessive of Luke. It just got worse whenever a female threatened her territory. First Rachel, even though she had come to like the woman, whenever she remembered Rachel's relationship with Luke, it was like Lorelai only could see the worst sides in people. Then the ordeal with the Chilton mom, where Lorelai really had felt her claws coming out even though it had been completely innocent on Luke's behalf. Now there was Nicole and Lorelai was already giving Luke a hard time. And she really had to stop. It was her own fault for not being able to see what was in front of her and finding the guts to stay put and go for it. Luke didn't belong to her, he never had. He was a grown man and was allowed to decide for himself who he wanted to spend his life with, as his friend, she had to respect that. Maybe she had gotten her chance if she had stayed put that night, but she hadn't and she only had herself to blame for it. As much as she hated to admitt it, it was time to move on.

In true Gilmore style, Lorelai got a cardboard box. In it she put the menu. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Though it felt silly and empty to just let the box contain a simple menu. It felt like she needed one more thing. She walked over to her wardrobe and picked out a specific outfit. The one she had found spread around his appartment two months ago. If anything needed putting away, that did. Otherwise whenever she opened her wardrobe she would see that one thing, mocking her on what she could've had, but didn't because of her stubborness. Aside from that she threw in just little things, little reminders of him. Finishing up, she carried the box with her and snuck it in with her old boyfriend boxes in her closet. It was a promise to herself, that she would accept and respect his relationship with Nicole, no matter how little she understood it, as long as Luke remained happy, she was gonna do her best not to say anything about it.

- _Mom_, Rory called from downstairs. - _Are you coming?_

- In a minute, Lorelai yelled, taking deep breaths.

_You can do this Gilmore. Put on a smile and walk down those stairs._ Her voice of reason, too bad it only surfaced when it best could annoy her, but when she truly needed it to prevent her from making grand mistakes, it was like reason left the building and only returned when she was in too deep. No matter how annoying, it was right. This wasn't the time to ponder over her romantic failures, it was her kid's big day and she wasn't gonna do anything to ruin that.

- That was some bathroom trip, Rory commented, as Lorelai came down the stairs.

- Yeah, sorry, stomach ache, Lorelai lied, hoping there would be no further questions asked. - So you haven't opened any of them huh?

- I was hoping you'd do the honor.

- But of course milady, Lorelai said, dramaticly and picked up the envelope with the Harvard logo, carefully opening it up and pulled out the first sheet of paper. - Dear Rory, _psych_. Love Paris.

- Funny, Rory noted. - Now tell me what it really says.

- You don't believe me. I'm shocked, I'm wounded, I'm.., Lorelai rambled, noticing Rory's impatient stare. - Oh allright, it says Dear Ms. Lorelai Leigh Gilmore... jikes they're awfully formal... Welcome to Harvard... and then there's a whole lot of words I don't understand. I'm sorry that you have to find out this way, kid, but your mother doesn't speak 'smart'.

- I'm surprised, concidering she's fluent in 'smart-alec'.

- Funny.

- Thank you.

- Okay, lets grab another one, Lorelai continued, and started to read the second letter. - Rory. _Help_! We are being held captive by your insane grandmother. Please send your registration form in enclosed envelope immediately and await further instructions. Yours truly, Yale... Boy my parents sure love to influence you...

- Funny, Rory replied, snapping up the Princeton letter to read herself.

- Aw, man, you're not even gonna let me take on Princeton? I had this whole Fresh Prince gag all worked out.

- Nope.

- You're no fun, Lorelai pouted. - What if I did it as a rap?

- And now we say goodnight, Rory replied and started picking up the letters.

- Come on, please stay, I promise I will make no more Ivy League jokes.

- I hardly think your jokes are up to Ivy League standard.

- Harsh, babe. Very harsh.

- Sorry, but that's the world for you.

- At least let us celebrate, I'll invite Sookie, she was so looking forward to making your celebration cake.

- The cake isn't going anywhere.

- But the whole opening of the letter ceremony is.

- If it makes you happy we can put the letters back in the envelopes and take them with us to Sookie's tomorrow, pretend that they just arrived.

- Oh, allrigth, Lorelai sighed. - Can I at least do the Ivy League jokes?

- If it makes you happy.

- You are my favourite daughter.

- So you keep saying, but now I'm really turning in.

Rory bent over and kissed her mother on the cheek.

- Night mom.

- Night kid.

Lorelai hoped Rory wouldn't notice the hollowness of her voice as she said goodnight. As the door to her daughter's room closed behind her and Lorelai heard the familliar sound of the bedsprings as Rory lied down, she felt her happy mask fade and a couple of tears started to make their way down her cheek. Every decision before that she had been forced to make didn't seem so difficult anymore, because it had always in one way or another been decisions she had wanted to make, her only obsticle being that she had simply been afraid to follow through. Having Rory had helped her escape the life her parent's had so determinedly set for her, running away from home had lead her to Stars Hollow and the life she loved. This however was truly the most difficult decision, because it was the opposite of everything she wanted.

The decision had however been made and with that choice she made one more. Until she was truly over Luke, she wouldn't date. No guy deserved being the transition guy and until the day she could concider one as more, it wouldn't be right to even try. So next time she saw Max, she would tell him just that, she was taking an indefinate sabbaticle from dating in order to get a grip on herself. She would call Alex in the morning, ask to meet him someplace convenient for him and then end the relationship, if it could even be called that. It was only right to do it face to face, even though she back in time hadn't given Max that curtesy.

With that she returned up the stairs, in order to go to bed herself. She stopped for a moment in front of the hallway closet, she made no motion to go towards it as it would only make it more difficult. She put it away for a reason. Now she only had left to follow through on the decision.

TBC

_AN: I am very aware that you most likely hate me right now, but to quote an other fanfic writer: "If it isn't happy, it isn't the end." Remember that when you roll me in tar and feathers..._


	14. The Inn caught fire

AN: Ah, it feels extra good to be writing now. I've finished my programming exam, so now I'm only one exam away from summer vacation now. Yay. I've also ordered GG season 3 on dvd and it'll be arriving only days after I come home for the summer, so me and mom will have lots to look forward to :) Plus I'm gonna introduce mom for "The 4400" and the two of us are gonna work on my Kaylee costume for the Serenity convention I'm going to in September. And of course I'll be writing my ass off, don't worry, I want to write many chapters for this story. Today was an extra good day though, cause as I was writing I was getting more ideas on how to continue the summary for my story arch. So I had to pause on writing the chapter to write some notes in my summary document, I think I added like half a page of notes, so the story's gonna be even longer than predicted. Good news, huh? lol And 12 reviews this time, I take this as a good sign :) I'm glad people seem to like the previous chapter despite the angst, it's all part of the story.

**smileyGGfan** - aw man, here you just blew my entire story arch. Throws up arms really quickly: Kidding! Just kidding... put the weapons down niiice and slooowly. After sorting out the URL and guessing it to be photobucket, I got to your art. Very nice :) Most my art is published on my site, Dream Universe (URL is found in my profile) I have made an LL wallpaper, which I'll add there with my next update, so be sure to look for it. I'm very glad you liked my parallells, it was something that just popped in my mind as I was writing. That happens from time to time, I get into a character's way of thinking and suddenly a new thought arrives. as for making the fic happy, let me just run my story arch, I promise you won't be disappointed. All good comes to those who wait ;)

**Mushroom27** - your wolves can take a break (and suddenly a mental image of "Max" as the wolf in "the 10th kingdom" flashes in front of my brain... I'm sorry, where was I? "Huff, puff" oh, sorry, a wolf habit I picked up), here's the update. As for the self control, well it's tough, cause I've always been so impatient with writing, but by letting things happen too easily just makes it less fulfilling to get to the goal, just as we now would've loved to see LL get together in season 1, you've gotta admitt to finally seeing that kiss, completely filled with pent up emotions was a hundred times better than a quicker realisation had been. Because we got to sit and cheer for them, hope and during certain things it was painfull, but oh so worth it, when we got to the end of season 4. It was just oh, so worth it. I'm glad you're hooked and I hope to see you for each of my updates.

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - Does the bus have to be yellow? Or would any color do?

**Iguana21** - I do hope I'm doing more than just adding filler bits... lol, good to see an other person hooked :) Makes writing the story even more fulfilling.

* * *

It was funny how people always thought about what they would do in case of crisis and when they actually ended up in the middle of one, how different it all turned out to be. Lorelai wasn't one who had thought that long and hard on how she would've handled the inn catching fire. Had the rubber ducks in the rooms come to life and started chasing her or the entire kitchen staff turned into flesh eating zombies, she'd be more than prepared. But something as real and possible as a fire, especially with Sookie's many accidents around the kitchen, it simply hadn't crossed her mind. Nothing, not even a 'what if' scenario in her head had been there to even prepare her for the _thought_ of a fire occuring.

She surprised herself with how 'in charge' she had been since arriving on the scene. It was like when there was at least one more task that needed doing, she was on auto gear. Like counting the guests and staff to make sure they had all gotten out, gathering and keeping the kids entertained, assuring the adults that everything was under control and now, breakfast. She had sent Sookie over to the market to get everything she needed to make breakfast, all they needed was a place and Lorelai could only think of one location.

She kept up double the pace as everyone behind her, just to make sure she was the first one in. Luke wouldn't like it. He would downright hate it. She wouldn't be surprised if he kicked them all right back out again as this would definately be defined as stepping on his toes. But no alternative springing to mind and her legs having a mind of their own, there was simply nothing else she could do.

Pushing the door open in such a force that had she been a superhero it'd broken off it's hinges, Lorelai walked into the diner, only stopping for a second to locate Luke, who was standing a couple of feet to her right, taking a breakfast order from one of the tables by the window. Lorelai only let herself throw a slight glance out the window, where she saw Sookie exiting the marked. Knowing Luke wouldn't finish the order before all hell broke loose, she made her way to the table and grabbed a hold of one of his hands.

- Lorelai, Luke exclaimed, irritated, as she pulled him with her behind the curtain.

- I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, she rambled.

- What? Lorelai...

Luke was interrupted by the bell ringing and Sookie's voice cutting into the silence that had been mere seconds earlier.

- Okay people. Staff to the back and set up. Guests take a seat by any available table. I need someone to get blueberries from Westons, any volunteers? Good, now _move it!_

- _What_, Luke repeated, his voice raised.

- I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Lorelai continued.

- Just move all of Luke's stuff aside, we don't need it, Sookie shouted to some of her workers who were on their way into the kitchen at that moment.

- _What?_ Who does she...

- We had a fire, Lorelai interrupted.

- What, Luke asked. - How? When? Where?

- Congratulations, you've managed to ask every monosyllable question in the english language, she quipped. - No wait, you forgot 'who'. Care to try again?

- Lorelai, Luke warned.

She sighed.

- The Inn caught fire. We got everyone out and...

- Wait. The Inn? Your Inn caught fire?

- No, the Cheshire Cat did, and we're all just here to celebrate, Lorelai replied dryly. - Of course my Inn. Well technicly Mia's... Oh man, Mia. I have to call her, I don't have my cellphone, I lent it to Michel to try to relocate the guests to the inn's and B&B's nearby. Do you have a cell I can, no, of course you don't have one, you hate cellphones. Do you think I can borrow the diner's phone? I...

- Lorelai, calm down, Luke interrupted her, motioning for her to sit down in the stairway. - Mia can wait. Talk to me. What happened?

Lorelai took a deep breath and did as she was told. Luke followed and sat down next to her. The stairway being kinda narrow, physical contact was inevitable and Lorelai tried her best to ignore the warm fuzzy feelings she got when Luke accidentally brushed her thigh with his hand and knee as he turned to face her.

- Lorelai, he asked, snapping her out of her trance.

- Sorry, I didn't really get much sleep, she apologised. - The phone woke me up, well it woke Rory up, who again woke me up and Tobin told me the fire alarm had gone off at the Inn and if I could please come down immediately. Everything up to actually getting there is kinda a blur, but I'm pretty sure I put on everything backwards, my lences, my bra, my shoes, if I could bend that way I would probably have poured coffee in my hair rather than drinking it... If I had coffee that is.

- At least that'd woken you up, Luke pointed out.

- Funny, she smiled. - So I get there and they've gotten all the guests and staff out, we must've done a dousin countings to make sure everyone's safe and then I have to adress all the guests, assure them that everything's under control, which of course it isn't. And chief Baker told me that they put the fire out, that the structure seems stable and that we should be able to get in tomorrow morning, but he couldn't say for sure, so now we're making them breakfast, while trying to relocate as many guests as possible and then I don't know what next, but we'll deal with it as we get to it.

- Seems to me you're doing great, taking it all one step at a time.

- Yeah, Lorelai replied, not so certain, her eyes watering up. - Great, _now_ I'm crying. Now that things are looking to get under control and now I start bawling. I'm sorry, I'm just...

- Hey, Luke murmured into her ear, soothingly as he placed his arm around her as more tears were falling down her cheek. - It's gonna be ok.

- I know, she sniffled. - I honestly don't know why I'm crying. I think it's just wish I had thought about it, you know? The whole posibillity of this happening, but I never did. Isn't it kinda my job to be prepared for this?

- I don't think anyone, Luke said, putting his other arm around her as well, enveloping her in a comforting hug. - No matter how much they think about it is ever prepared for a fire.

- Firemen are, she pointed out, her voice muffled.

- Okay, firemen are, Luke chuckled. - But you know what I mean. I mean, I've thought about some of those 'what if' scenarios several times, like what if the diner caught fire, which if you ask me is much more likely now that Sookie's rampaging my kitchen.

Lorelai laughed into his chest between hick-ups. She knew she shouldn't be sitting in the stairway, holding him this close. Whatever good it did her now, it would make keeping that promise she had made to herself about letting him go at least three times harder later. The logical side of her ackowledged it, but the emotional side just wanted to hold on just a few more minutes. The feel of his arms around her, that special way he smelled, it was partly of deep-fried meat, but also that typical masculine smell that Lorelai loved so much, like a mixture of aftershave, deodorant and something else. It was almost enough to make her believe, for a couple of seconds there was no Nicole, no promise, nothing. It would've been so easy to give into that belief and just reach up and kiss him, but today was the day when Lorelai had to discover that sometimes her logic side actually had her grounded. But that didn't happen until she felt Luke kiss the top of her head and pull back.

- You feeling better, he asked.

Her throat feeling like sandpaper and the rest of her body feeling like it was covered in fairy dust, she just stared at him for a couple of seconds. Distracting herself, she quickly dried the remaining tears away, before she again looked into his eyes again.

- Depends on what you define as better, she replied.

- How are you feeling, Luke corrected himself.

- Well, you know, the usual. Sweaty, shaky, queasy, slightly panicky. None of that is new, but now I have a headache because of the crying on top of it.

- I'm sorry, he replied.

- It's not your fault. I have no idea why I suddenly was crying. One minute I'm fine, the next I'm bawling like a baby. I can't explain it. I hope I didn't freak you out or anything.

- You didn't.

- Good, cause if I did, I'm...

- Don't say you're sorry. I've heard enough of that word to last me the week, Luke replied. - You probably just needed to cry about something, maybe it didn't even have anything to do with this. You're always being strong for others, so no wonder things catch up with you once in a while.

- Yeah, you're probably right, Lorelai smiled. - Hey, thanks for not freaking out about me breaking down in front of you.

- You're welcome, Luke chuckled. - Just stay here, Sookie seems to be handling the breakfast just fine on her own, just give yourself a couple of minutes before going out there and I'll get you an aspirin and a glass of water for the headache.

- Think you could bring me a cup of coffee as well?

- Lorelai?

- Please, she begged with a pout. - I haven't had any yet. You wouldn't want withdrawal pains added to my list of agonies would you?

Luke sighed.

- I'll be right back.

- You're the best, she grinned.

Luke smiled and made his way through the curtain.

- Hey Luke?

He popped his head back in the doorway.

- _What_, he asked, slightly annoyed.

- Thanks again.

Luke smiled.

- Anytime.

TBC


	15. It was only a dream

AN: So, I'm _finally_ done with exams. It's summer vacation. So now I'll be having more time to write and do my other projects, lets just hope I don't get writers block or anything, knock on wood. Season 3 will be arriving in about 2 weeks I hope, then me and mom can just enjoy it together, especially the season opening :D So okay, here's the next chapter and to whoever it was who dislikes it when I use specific scenes from the show. Sorry to disappoint you, but it was nessesary. I hope my additions is good enough for you to forgive me. It's an other one from Luke's POV. I know, those are far between. Mostly because I identify much easier with Lorelai. I mean, there's a reason friends nicknamed me Lorelai.

**GGRox07** - lol, if you think you hate Nicole now... do I even need to finish that for you to get the picture?

**Javamaniac** - It's not Luke's fault he doesn't remember. He drank to be solidary with Lorelai when she was hurting and both of them simply overdid it.

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - Aww, I don't wanna kill you, so lets try updating faster... I can't promise anything though. lol

**SmileyGGfan** - Where are you? You're gone... _again_... Seriously, I'm ready to start sobbing any minute. Don't addict me to your reviews and then force me to go cold turkey :(

* * *

Luke was exhausted, a very understandable thing. Not only had the entire Inn's guests and staff, with the exception of those assigned to book rooms for the guests around the nearby counties, taken over his entire diner. After cheering Lorelai back up to her usual annoying self, she had gotten the ingenious idea to tell the kids that he'd do a puppet show for them if they asked him to, not only that, she had coached them to never stop nagging about it until he gave in. With nowhere to go, the parents stuck around for lunch, dinner and supper, making sure the kids would too. The Inn's staff's presence in his kitchen and his built in restraint towards bothering pregnant women made no room for him there, so what did he do? He held a frickin' puppet show. It was the lowest point in his entire life and he knew, if Lorelai found out he'd actually caved, she would never let him live it down. Somehow though, he was sure she knew, he could pretend to, but there wasn't a single thing he wouldn't do for that woman. Though he wasn't sure she knew why.

After closing up, he'd only done the mere nessesities, wiping the counter and tables, putting up the chairs. Luckily Sookie's kitchen staff had done the dishes and he decided to rather count the register the day after when he hopefully had some more energy. He'd gone straight up to his appartment and gotten ready for bed. Normally he'd read the paper, maybe watch some tv, if she wasn't working on a big case, he'd call Nicole just to check in. However all of it would have to wait for tomorrow. Today he just wanted to go to bed. That was when he heard it. Someone outside shouting.

- _Stella!_

Something hit the window and he immediately pulled up the blinds and opened the window.

- Who is that, he asked, annoyed.

- Lorelai, she said, smiling, giving him a little wave.

He should've known. Who else would be coming over late at night, throwing rocks at his window, shouting _Stella_?

- What are you doing down there?

- Enjoying some air, getting some exercise... oh and freezing my butt off.

- Then just go home, he offered.

- Home? I have no home, Lorelai said, dramaticly. - Hunted, despised.

- Huh?

- Ed Wood... the movie..? Never mind. People are bunking at a place and now I need somewhere to stay.

- And it just occurred to you now, Luke pointed out.

- The stupic Hatlestads showed up.

Leave it to Lorelai to give a completely random answer as if it was obvious to everyone what she was talking about. She rarely, if ever offered an explanations as to what she was talking about and most of the time he didn't even ask, just let her stay a mystery. He heard the window next door open up and an angry voice of Mrs. Slutsky ring out.

- _Pipe down out there!_

- Go back to bed, Mrs Slutsky, Luke said.

- Don't talk to me that way, young mad, she angrily replied.

- Throw your keys down, Lorelai suggested.

- I will _not_, Mrs Slutsky shouted.

- No, Luke, Mrs Slutsky, Lorelai replied.

- I'll just come down.

He closed the window and looked down at himself, suddenly relieved about being a man used to sleepwear. How uncomfortable it'd be if he was one of those men used to sleeping in his boxers or even worse, nude. It'd be bad enough to have Lorelai bunking on his couch, or... well he should probably offer her the bed. With how she was already having to handle her workplace catching fire, working all day long with only her tearful breakdown as a break, to assure her guests comfort and apparently being kicked out of her own place on top of it all, it just wasn't right that she'd have to sleep on an uncomfortable couch as well.

He made his way downstairs, to see that Lorelai was still standing in the middle of the street, apparently still talking to Mrs Slutsky. Her eyes alternated between looking up at the older woman and looking at the door and as he was unlocking it, he saw her notice him and saying something he couldn't hear to his neighbour.

- Thank God, what took you so long, she demanded as she gathered her pillows and hurried in. - I felt like I was having a Friday night dinner at the Gilmore mansion, minus the good food, warmth and the alcohol level.

- Sorry, he offered.

- You had to get dressed or something?

- No, this is my bed wear.

- Good, she muttered, somewhat distracted by something.

- What, he asked.

- What, what, she quipped.

- You seemed kinda far away for a moment there.

- No, I was just glad that I didn't give you more trouble than what I'm already doing, she quickly answered, a little too quickly, even for her.

He could tell that she was lying, but decided not to press the matter. If she wanted to be a damn mystery, then fine by him. He had given up long time ago to figure her out. So instead he just lead the way upstairs.

- You can have the bed and I'll take the couch, let me just get some new sheets for you.

- You don't have to, Lorelai objected. - Couch is fine, really.

- It's allright, I don't mind. It's not your fault you got kicked out. How did that happen again.

- I told you, the Hatlestads came back. Apparently I'd made the whole staying over experience sound so _fun_, she said, rolling her eyes at the last word. - So they decided to come back and stay the night. So in a way it's my own fault by being such a terrific saleswoman slash idiot that I ended up wandering the streets worrying about where I was gonna sleep.

Luke smiled and nodded.

- At least you don't need to worry about that anymore.

- Yeah, but now it feels like I'm kicking you out of your bed.

- You're not, I'm offering and it's really no problem. You've had a stressful day, with the Inn and all, you should get some rest.

- At least let me help you make the bed.

- I can handle it.

- Come on, it'll be fun, she begged.

- Fun? You _like_ making beds, he asked, half of him surprised, the other half wondering why he even was surprised, as this was after all, Lorelai.

She grinned and nodded.

- And washing dishes, she added.

- You have strange passions, he commented as he walked towards the closet. - Fine, if it makes you happy, you can help.

He tossed her sheet to start tuck it in on her side and then he did his side, that done, he unwrapped the top sheet and started tucking it in on his side, not noticing straight away that Lorelai started tucking it in on her side as well until she pulled the sheet a little too hard, undoing some of his work.

- Don't do that, he asked.

- Don't do what?

- Don't pull the sheet back after I pull it. I need more for this side.

He had almost finished tucking it in on his side when Lorelai pulled it again.

- You just did it again, he complained.

- Sorry, just needed more for my side, she explained.

- But I'm already tucking it in here.

- Yeah, but I like slipping down into it like I'm in a straitjacket or something.

- You must feel right at home there, he replied, dryly.

- I so set you up for that one, didn't I, she chuckled.

- Fine, do it your way, he replied, raising his hands, stepping away.

- You really don't have to do this, you know, she said, sitting down on the now made bed. - Giving away your bed all gentlemen-y. The couch would've been just fine.

- No, it wouldn't. The couch isn't the best, you'd end up not getting a wink of sleep if I let you have it.

- Great, she muttered. - Now I'm gonna feel even more guilty, knowing you'll be staying on an uncomfortable couch because of me.

- I'll be fine, I can sleep on practicly anything. I'd rather take the couch one night, than to see you get an other meltdown, he told her genuinely. - I hate seeing you like that.

He noticed her eyes looking glassy and she was blinking insessively, not really meeting his gaze.

- You ok, he asked, concerned.

- I'm fine, just ignore it. I don't know why I'm like this, I think it's just all this stress or something, it's making me oversensitive or something.

- You sure, he asked, not really sure if he believed it.

- Positive.

He knew when to stop pressing matters, plus the phone ringing gave him a good excuse to just leave it be. He turned around and went to pick it up.

- Hello, he said, despite having a feeling about who it was.

_- Hey, it's me,_ Nicole answered.

- Oh, hey Nicole.

_- Just calling to see how you are?_

- Yeah, I'm good.

_- So what've you been doing today?_

- Oh, nothing much. There was a fire at the local Inn out here and...

_- Sounds bad, is that the one Lorelai...?_

- Yeah, the one she works at, he quickly replied, finishing her sentence for her.

_- Is everything okay? Was anyone hurt?_

- Everybody's fine. Yeah, just a lot of chaos for a while, he replied, casually changing the subject. - So how was your thing today?

_- It went pretty well, but I'm kinda tired, so..._

- All right, he replied, understandingly. - Fill me in tomorrow.

_- Does seven work for you?_

- Seven's good.

_- Good, I'll come over then._

- Okay.

_- Okay._

- Okay, yeah.

_- Goodnight._

- Goodnight, he replied, hanging up. - That was Nicole.

He avoided looking at Lorelai when he said it. Not really understanding why he just felt uncomfortable speaking to Lorelai about her. So far he just felt a negative vibe from her whenever there was a conversation where Nicole was mentioned. However he knew he couldn't completely avoid it, especially not when she called just when Lorelai was sleeping over.

- So I heard, Lorelai replied, still sitting on the bed. - Why didn't you tell her I was here?

- Didn't come up, he shrugged, hoping she would get off the subject soon.

- You mean, she didn't out of the clear blue and for no reason ask you if I was sleeping over?

He was feeling more and more uneasy with where the conversation was going. Sure, it wasn't Lorelai's business to be telling him what he should or shouldn't do and usually when he felt she was butting in, he got angry, but what he was feeling here was shame, because the only thing Lorelai was doing was pointing out something he knew himself.

- Just didn't seem necessary, he shrugged, as an other attempt to just get her off his case.

- Well, you have nothing to hide here, she pointed out. - You just took in a refugee.

It had been a wild card to hope she would just lay off his case, because he knew her darn well enough to know she never stopped digging until she got the answers she was seeking.

- I know there's nothing to hide. It's just that...

He turned to finally look at her. He wasn't sure who it was he was protecting more by not mentioning Lorelai to Nicole. First off it would just make Nicole feel uneasy, even though he told her over and over again that nothing was going on between him and Lorelai. Second of all, he didn't want Lorleai to feel uneasy because of what Nicole was thinking. However there was no turning back and he just had to find a nice way of telling her.

- You've kinda become a...

- Become what, Lorelai asked.

- A sore point with me and Nicole, he sighed.

- What, she exclaimed. - How?

- Well, he said, as he made his way to the couch. - On our first date, I was a little nervous and I wasn't having any luck coming up with topics, so I was just kinda blabbing a lot. And then she ordered extra fries at dinner, so it reminded me of you and I told her a quick story about you and French fries, and that seemed fine.

He took a seconds pause and then looked up at her.

- And then later, he continued. - She ordered a third cup of coffee...

- Oh, Luke, Lorelai cringed.

- So I mentioned you and your coffee thing, and I noticed how Nicole kind of reacted a little, and now she's been a little sensitive when it comes to you. So mentioning you sleeping here to her just wouldn't do any good. I mean, I wish she could just trust me when I say we're just really good friends, but I don't know how to convince her. She's kinda just set her mind on it.

He saw Lorelai shift uncomfortably on the bed, not really facing him. Nicole's dislike towards her seemed to really be bothering her, despite her own obvious dislike for Nicole.

- Well, of course she has, Luke, Lorelai finally said. - You don't talk about another woman on a first date.

- Even if it's just a friend?

Lorelai shook her head.

- They don't exist. Not on a first date. It's all about first impressions, so talking about an other woman makes it seem like to her that you're not there because you want to be there, but more that you're trying to get over the other woman.

The conversation seemed now to be taking an even less comfortable turn. Was Lorelai trying to indicate something or was she simply looking at it from an outsider's point of view?

- This is why I hate dating, he groaned.

- I know what you mean, Lorelai replied, offering him a smile. - But unfortunately it's a nessesary evil, because otherwise we'd end up alone.

- You're not alone, he pointed out. - You have Rory.

- Yeah, I have, Lorelai replied. - And I love her more than anything. But she's going away for college soon and then it'd be just me, sitting around the house.

- But she'll come home from time to time and you could maybe drive up to Boston to visit every now and then. I doubt you'll manage to stay apart for very long.

- Actually, she'll be a little bit nearer than that.

- What you mean?

- The pro/con lists have spoken and my little girl's gonna be attending Yale.

- Yale, he asked, surprised to say the least. - I thought you hated Yale. What happened to Harvard?

- I never said I hated Yale, Lorelai replied. - I just didn't want Rory to base the choice on what my parents wanted. I want her to go to the best school she can and I want it to be a school she chose herself. And sure I hate pleasing my parents about as much as you hate pleasing Taylor, but sometimes it's bound to happen.

- So, have you told your mom yet?

- God no and actually make her happy, Lorelai cringed. - No, I'm dragging out the whole 'Rory's going to Harvard' bit for as long as I can manage.

- Sounds like a plan, he grinned.

- Yeah, oh sorry, I have to get up super early tomorrow, hope you don't mind.

- No problem, what time you need me to set the time for?

- Six.

Luke chuckled on Lorelai's view on early and late. Holding up his alarm clock, he replied.

- I get up at quarter to five every morning.

- Why in the world would you get up that early, she asked, wrinkling her nose.

- I don't know, to run my business, he deadpanned.

- Well, change businesses, she muttered.

Lorelai lied down on the bed, making herself comfortable when suddenly it seemed like something hit her.

- Ooh, wow, she muttered. - Total déjà vu.

- Yeah, Luke asked. - What?

- It's nothing, she replied, quickly. - The alarm clock just made me remember something.

- Like what?

- Ok, if I tell you, you have to promise not to laugh, ok?

- I promise.

- You promise what?

- I promise I won't laugh.

- Ok, it's just this dream I had once. An alarm clock woke me up, so naturally I pressed the snooze button and just turned over to sleep more, then an other alarm clock went off, then another and another. It must've been like eighteen alarm clocks in total. And not just the regular kind, pretty much every type of clock was there, ringing simultaniously, so the dream continues and apparently you were the one setting all these alarms to get me up. Very efficient way, I've gotta say.

- Why did I do that? Where were we?

- Well, we were at my house. I walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, where you were cooking breakfast and I was scolding you for following my request the day before to make sure I was up by seven and you were just being all pleased with yourself. So I walk to the counter to fill up my morning coffee only to realize you've put decaf in my regular coffee bag.

Luke smirked.

- Don't get any ideas, she warned him. - I'm very good at distinguishing the differance between decaf and regular coffee. Anyways, I'm not letting you get away with it, so I search the kitchen and finally find the real stuff. And first you say you give up, but then you beg me to go just one day without coffee, which of course I decline. So then you hand me my breakfast and say goodbye to me, then you bend down and say goodbye to my stomach.

- And I did that because...

- Well, because I was pregnant. With twins, apparently.

A knot formed in his stomach at the words as the image of Lorelai pregnant appeared before his eyes, he wasn't all too sure why he was reacting the way he was, after all it was just a stupid dreams. He'd had plenty of dreams in his life that didn't mean a thing. There could've been plenty of reasons for why she'd been dreaming this, it didn't have to mean a thing.

- Um... were they mine, he asked, not sure what else to respond.

- I think so, I mean, my dream self didn't ask for a paternity test, so I can't confirm it or anything. But being the only male, except for one of the twins, I'm pretty sure that indicates that they were yours.

- Were we married?

- Could be, I didn't really check my finger for a ring. But what does that matter, right? After all, it's only a dream.

- R-right, he replied. - Though, you shouldn't drink coffee when you're pregnant. I mean, there has to be a reason for why Rory's a caffeine addict, right?

- Yeah, I guess.

- Anything else happened?

- Y-ye...n-no, no, that was it. You left for work and I woke up.

- Oh, ok, Luke replied, not really believing it, but Lorelai didn't really seem like she wanted to share more. - Well... night?

- Night, she replied and turned sideways, pulling the sheet over her.

He didn't know how long it took him to fall asleep, but it seemed like forever. He couldn't get that dream image out of his head and he kept looking over at Lorelai now and then. But it was true what she said. _What does it really matter? After all it was only a dream._

TBC


	16. Marking her territory

AN: Okay, so... less reviews. Are many people having exams now or something? When are you guys having exams, me and my friends are all done, so I dunno what to expect with the rest of you. Like I said, I know last chapter had a lot of direct involvement with existing dialogue, but it was the way I had to write it and I just couldn't leave it out. 

**sarahb2007** - Not to sound mean or anything, but if I'm driving you crazy right now, I'm doing my job right. It's a long story arch, so don't worry it won't be a mile long struggle and then end with just them getting together, the story continues way beyond that ;) 

**smileyGGfan** - Hapy to see you back, but surprised to not find a comment on chapter 15... why only comment chapter 14, I'm curious...

* * *

The past couple of days had been nothing but rough on Lorelai. The crisis was over, the guests had been sent home with all their belongings as well as refunds for the service they didn't get. Guests schedualled for two weeks ahead had been called, offered to have their stay dates changed or to be rebooked to nearby Inn's. One would think, when explaining to them there had been a fire, that they would have sympathy. Sure, that happened with most the guests she called to inform, but there were the occational grumps who blamed her for ruining their holiday and so on. The many phonecalls had left her emotionally drained and physicly exhausted. She was a master talker, but those calls simply wore her down. To make matters worse, she worked so far into the night and had to go in so early in the day, she was cut off from Luke's coffee. Normally she'd call Luke and plead for him to be an angel and bring her his wonder brew, but with everything that had happened, with how she'd taken over his diner, his bed... hm... bed, _dirty_... she just didn't feel right to take even more advantage of him. The first day, the Inn didn't even have any coffee makers working, the second day, Tobin, the night manager had brought his own, just to make Lorelai happy. Though the coffee tasted awfull. So awfull that she'd put her alarm clock on extra early, just so she'd make it to diner for coffee, before the morning meeting. 

She stopped dead in her tracks when she was just across the street from the diner. Through the window she could see Nicole and Taylor having one of those lawyer client meetings. She hadn't forgotten what Luke reluctantly had said to her just a couple of nights ago. She was a sore point in his and Nicole's relationship. A selfish person would've used that knowledge to her own advantage. And Lorelai was a selfish person, she could admitt that. She was selfish, posessive, manipulative... after all, no matter how little she wanted to admitt it, she was her mother's daughter. And maybe more than anything else, she wished Nicole out of the picture. 

The list of worst personal traits seemed endless and Lorelai couldn't help but wonder, as she was watching Luke refill Nicole's coffee whilst barking something at Taylor, why was it that she still wouldn't do it? She had all the characteristics of a person that easily could work the situation to go her way, so what was it that kept her from doing it? As she mentally asked herself the question, the bubble containing the answer slowly rose to the surface of her mind, before finally popping open, releasing its content. _Because you're not Emily Gilmore._ The answer made way for a new question. What was the differance between her and her mother? She could clearly hear her mother's perfect arguements on how Lorelai really was just like her and on all those arguements she was right, no matter how little Lorelai wanted her to be. She shared half the woman's genes and probably all her characteristics. She too had a strong urge to have things her way. But unlike Emily, Lorelai didn't nessesarily want life to be easy. It helped, of course, when something finally went her way, she didn't deny it. But she wanted to be someone who managed to work through her problems, she might not be very good at it, but it was better than hiding them, denying that they existed, which was one of Emily's specialities. She wanted to reason that she also wouldn't do it because she cared about Luke, but when it came to comparing herself to Emily, that arguement simply didn't hold. Because she knew deep down that Emily, in her own twisted way loved her, even if it at times was really hard to believe. 

Lorelai hadn't moved from her spot in the last couple of minutes and she feared that if she stood there any longer, it would lead to speculations, but seeing Nicole in the diner, having Luke's words ring in her head, she wasn't sure if she should even go in. But a voice of reason deep down told her avoiding Luke when Nicole was around just because it was easy, wasn't a smart move. If anything it would probably make Nicole even more suspicious, since she never saw Lorelai come in for coffee when she was there. However, if Lorelai walked in and acted normally maybe Nicole eventually would get off Luke's back about her. No matter how much Lorelai wished Luke was feeling something towards her in return, it was his emotions, his choice and if he chose Nicole, then Lorelai had to respect it and she had to do her part to assure that Nicole would trust Luke on his decision. Also, no matter what happened, Lorelai wanted Luke to remain her friend. He didn't know it, but he truly was her best friend, the one person she could let herself go in front of. He had only known her for a couple of years, a nice chunk out of her adult life, she had to admitt, but not nearly as long as many other people in her life had, yet no one knew her as well as Luke did, not Sookie, not even Rory. 

Finally she moved, crossed the road and entered the diner. If she ever was gonna get over Luke and keep his friendship, she had to get used to seeing him and Nicole together and have Nicole see her as well. Luke wasn't at Nicole's table when Lorelai came in, he was behind the counter, back towards her, probably putting on a fresh pot of coffee. 

- Coffee, coffee, coffee, Lorelai chanted, as she reached the counter, flashing Luke a smile as he turned around. - And a doughnut. 

- What would it take for you to eat a salad, Luke asked. 

- An alternate reality, Lorelai replied matter-of-factly. - Come on, I'm _starving_. 

- How many cups have you had? 

- None, she answered truthfully, receiving a look of disbelief. - I'm telling the truth. 

He continued staring at her, before placing an apple in front of her. 

- Eat this and I'll get you your coffee. 

- You're seriously gonna keep up with this, Lorelai exclaimed in disbelief. 

- You're not the only one who can be stubborn, he replied. - This way I'll sleep easier at night, knowing that you at least have something healthy each day. 

- You really care that much about my habits, Lorelai laughed. 

- Someone has to, he shrugged. - I'm a bit disappointed that Rory isn't the one doing it, since I always thought she was more sensible than that. 

- Rory knows what's good for her, Lorelai replied, casually and sighed. - Allright, I'll eat it, but it's only because I'm completely decaffinated, so don't think you won anything. 

- Oh, I never do, Luke chuckled. - I'm all aware that you're high maintenance. 

- Shush you, Lorelai scoffed. - Now go and prepare that pot, I want my coffee the minute I'm done. _And_ my doughnut. 

- Carefull or I might make you eat two, he teased. 

- Do that and I won't be responsible for my actions, Lorelai threatened and turned around. - Nicole, is he like that with you? 

She gave Nicole her best friendly smile and got a reserved, polite one in return, which was around what Lorelai was expecting at this point. She knew very well it was quite possible that Nicole would never learn to trust her to not go after Luke, but she hoped that she could at least get Nicole to trust Luke, for his sake. As Sookie had put it, Luke didn't really let that many people in, so the fact that he had let Nicole had to mean something, right? 

- Unlike you, Luke replied. - Nicole doesn't need supervision. 

- I can't believe you're babying me, Lorelai exclaimed. - Which one of us has a kid? 

- And that indicates maturity, Luke asked and ducked as the remains of the apple flew at him. - Or that? 

Lorelai glared at him. 

- Where's my coffee? 

Keeping his end of the bargain, Luke poured her a large cup and went to get the doughnut. 

- You didn't come in on friday, he commented. 

- Yeah, Lorelai replied, nonchalant. - My parents insisted on keeping us longer to celebrate. 

- So I guess you told them about Yale, huh. I thought you were gonna prolong having them believe she was going to Harvard. 

- Rory talked me out of it and once that girl's decided on something it's hard to convince her otherwise. She's very stubborn. 

- Sounds like someone I know, Luke chuckled. 

- Do you have an other apple I can throw at you? 

- Sorry, you're only allowed to throw fruit you've actually eaten. 

- What if I take one bite out of it? Can I throw it then? 

- I'm guessing they were thrilled about Yale, Luke said, ignoring that last thing Lorelai said. 

- Are you kidding me? First they scolded me for joking about it. I had to convince them like five times over that we were in fact not kidding. When they finally grasped the idea that Rory was in fact following the Gilmore tradition and going to Yale, they brought out their most expencive champagne. Even pored Rory a glass, they were _that_ excited. So then of course dad brought out his Yale yearbook, taught Rory the song. There were at least five glances from my mother that could be translated into _'that should've been you'_. 

- So, let me guess, you drank half the bottle, he asked, as Lorelai made a face. - What? I thought you loved champagne. 

- I swear to you, that was the worst champagne I'd ever tasted, I spent the entire night sipping on that one glass, just so my mother wouldn't pour me an other one. 

- I'd pay to see you sip anything, Luke chuckled. 

- Well, you'll probably get plenty of chances on friday. 

- That's right, your birthday's coming up. Five hours of manual labor's still good enough, he asked. 

- _Dirty_, Lorelai giggled. 

- Lorelai, he groaned. 

- Five hour's fine. Rory and I stayed up late last night making the list. 

- I almost regret offering. 

- We're only getting our money's worth, Lorelai shrugged. - Oh, and bring Bert. 

- I'll bring my toolbox, but I'm not calling it Bert. 

- Toolbox, _dirty_, Lorelai giggled. 

- Aw jeez. 

- I so set you up for that one. 

- So when you want me to come over? Tomorrow? 

- Can't, me and Rory have a thing. I'll be home all Wednesday, though. 

- Wednesday it is, I'll come over sometime after the lunch rush, Luke replied. - Oh, I gotta... Nicole wants me... Don't you dare say an other dirty. 

- I didn't say anything, Lorelai replied, keeping a seemingly straight face as Luke went over to join his girlfriend. 

More than anything, Lorelai was tempted to turn around and observe them, but she didn't. One thing was knowing they were together, the other was actually watching it. She couldn't do much about hearing them, unless she did an 'Allo 'Allo and stuffed cheese in her ears. Being short on cheese and finding the practise disgusting, she casually sipped the remaining coffee in her cup, hoping they wouldn't talk loud enough for her to hear. No such luck. 

- So, you've finished with Taylor? What was it that took so long? 

- He tried setting me up with his nephew, Nicole laughed. - I don't know if I should be flattered or offended. 

- If he's anything like Taylor, I'd go with offended, Luke commented. - So, are we still on for a movie tonight? 

- Absolutely, Nicole replied. - But, do you think you could maybe sit down for a second? 

- Um, sure. We're not having the conversation, are we? 

- What conversation? 

- _The_ conversation? 

- Luke, I'm really not following you, Nicole replied, confused. - Can you just sit down, already? 

- Here we go, Luke mumbled, barely audiable for Lorelai at the counter. 

- See, my parents are coming into town and I'm meeting them for lunch, Nicole explained. - So I thought that maybe you'd like to join me? 

- Join you? 

- Yeah, you know, you don't have to come. It's really up to you, what you want to do. No pressure. 

- I... ah... It's not that.., Luke rambled. - I just haven't met any parents for a while and... 

- You know, just forget it. I just thought I'd float it, see what you thought. 

- Okay, Luke mumbled. 

- I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to put you on the spot or anything. There's always some other time. Don't worry about it. 

- You didn't ah... um... what time's the lunch? 

- Two o'clock on Thursday, Nicole replied. 

Lorelai had uconsiously gulped down her remaining coffee and was now left with an empty cup and a strong need for more caffeine. Knowing Luke to be really busy, she thought she'd just save him from having to leave Nicole's side to refill it, so she got up and was about to make her way around the counter, when she heard Luke's voice. 

- What do you think you're doing? 

- Um, she replied, sheepishly. - Getting more coffee? 

- Get out from behind the counter, he ordered. 

- But. Cup. Empty, Lorelai replied, pointing at her cup. 

- Sit down, I'll be over there in a minute. 

Lorelai slumped back on her chair, pouting, as she stared down into the empty cup. Luke turned his gaze from her to Nicole. 

- Um, so... Two o'clock on Thursday? 

- Two o'clock on Thursday, Nicole repeated. 

- Great, I'll see you there. 

- Great, Nicole replied, relieved, getting up, gathering her things. - And I'll see you tonight? 

- Yup, Luke replied, getting up. 

He turned to return to his job, when Nicole grabbed the sleeve of his flannel and pulled him down for a kiss. She held him there for a couple of seconds when the kiss ended and just looked into his eyes. 

- Bye, she said, smiling, giving Lorelai a slight glance before leaving the diner. 

Luke who always raved on and on about how inappropriate public displays of affection was, stood flabbergasted for a moment before returning behind the counter, filling Lorelai's cup back up. He was completely ignorant to why Nicole had done it, but Lorelai knew. It was a code, woman to woman. A kiss like that in front of what she thought of as the competition meant nothing else than 'stay away from my man'. How little Nicole knew that _that_ was in fact what Lorelai was trying to do. 

- So, she said, trying to erase that image from her mind. - Meeting the parents, huh? Sounds serious. 

- Yeah, well, Luke sighed. - I guess it's about time, right? It would come up eventually anyway, so why not get it over and done with. 

- You sound kinda worried, Lorelai noted. 

- I'm not really good with parents. 

- What are you talking about? I'm sure they'll love you. 

- We'll see, Luke sighed. - So, hey, don't you have work? 

- Oh, no... the Inn, the _meeting_, Lorelai exclaimed. - I totally forgot. Gyah... I just have to... 

She franticly searched her purse for her wallet, but Luke put his hand on her shoulder. 

- Don't worry about it. Grab a doughnut. I'll see you on Wednesday. 

- Wednesday, Lorelai repeated. - Yeah. I'll have the list ready. 

- Looking forward to it, he grinned. 

TBC 


	17. Goodbye thirtyfour, hello thirtyfive

AN: Ok, this took a couple of more days, cause what did I hear the minute I came home? _"Btw... The internet isn't working"_ So I had to go to a tech shop to get that fixed, plus I spent some time with my mom, dad, my two adorable nieces, one is 3 years old, the other is about 7 months old now. I just love them both to pieces. I also love how natural it is for the 3 year old that auntie has green hair... lol, I've heard other two and three year olds say _"look mommy, she has_ green _hair!"_, but not my niece, my sister comments on it, but not my niece. I have a feeling you might be able to expect quicker updates, I can't promise anything, but I have mapped out more detailes on the next 7-8 chapters or so. It depends of course on how quick you guys are at reviewing ;)

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - It's responces like these I live for, passionate ones, whether they are positive or negative, if it stirs something in the reader, then you've reached your goal (and I suspect that will happen a couple of more times before this fic is through, which isn't for a loooong time). The whole point of writing that kiss was showing Nicole marking her territory. She's feeling threatened because deep down, she's aware that Luke's feelings for Lorelai isn't exactly platonic ones. She's trying to show that he's taken as well as reminding him on who she is.

**flcrkr** - Thank you, I dunno, I get these scenes in my head and all of a sudden weird stuff like that happens and I just have to write it. I'm glad you're enjoying it.

**smileyGGfan** - I find it amusing how you're now one chapter behind everyone else, hope you enjoy your vacation, and get up to date when you return.

* * *

Nothing like a World's Largest Pizza _Almost_ to take her mind off the catastrophy named Emily from earlier in the evening. Not to mention what had to be Stars Hollow's biggest shindig since her engagement party with Max. She wondered if this had more to do with the townies love for throwing a good bash or whether perhaps it was the townies love for her. Even though she had been prepared for her daughter planning something alongside of a party, it always amazed her what she managed to pull off. And when one knew how much confidense Lorelai had in her kid, her being stunned said everything that needed to be said about it.

She held high suspisions that Babette and Miss Patty had sampled the famous party punch some whilst helping decorate, since the two clearly were three sheets to the wind before Lorelai could even set foot on the premises. She hoped all males within a three-mile radius had all their bodyparts accounted for, as Stars Hollow's gossip queens had a tendency to grab onto anything they fancied when drunk. True, they didn't have that much of a problem with that when they were sober, but the more alcohol they consumed the lower their standards fell both in actions as well as in taste. At this point, Lorelai suspected even severely bandaged Kirk was a potential victim.

Sookie was still silently sulking about Rory not including her in the food preparations for the party. Lorelai knew Rory had only had the best intentions in doing so and deep down she was sure Sookie too knew it, but having that on top of not being able to fully enjoy the party food or drink-wise, Sookie was put in a mood that was difficult to get out of.

- Hey, if it helps, Lorelai told her friend. - I won't have anything to drink either.

- No, don't do that, Sookie objected. - It's your birthday, you should enjoy it. Don't have me stopping that. Now I just feel awfull, you're gonna sacrifise your fun for me. It's not your fault I'm pregnant.

- Solidarity, sister, Lorelai replied. - Who here knows better than I what you're going through? I'd say no one. Now, once that baby's out, you and me are gonna get so shitfaced we're not even gonna see or walk straight for a week, how does that sound?

A smile slowly crept upon Sookie's plump face.

- I won't drink, either, not a drop. As long as you can't, I won't either, Jackson proclaimed. - Tell you what, I won't even have cake. Not a slice, in fact, I'll turn around so I don't even get to look at it.

- I'm sorry, that's where I draw the line, Lorelai replied. - Cause, honey, I love you and I would cut off my foot for you in the split of a second if I had to, but no power in the universe can keep me away from that cake.

The smile that was now apparent on Sookie's face errupted into a soft giggle. Lorelai pulled her friend into a hug and placed a soft kiss on her temple.

- It's hard right now, Lorelai told her. - I know, but in six months there won't even be a single doubt in your mind that this was all worth it. I mean, look at Rory. What's a couple of months with this, when _that_'s the result?

- Yeah, Sookie sighed. - You ever think about doing all that again? Have an other kid?

- Maybe. I mean, I don't think I'd want to do it again alone, because as much as I believe I did right by Rory, the one thing I never could give her was a dad. Christopher kept coming and going as he pleased and even now, when he's nearby, Rory barely sees him.

- That's not your fault.

- I know that. Deep down I know that, but I do feel like a failure on that area, because I couldn't get him to stay for her, Lorelai sighed. - Now, Jackson. There's a great guy. Christopher wouldn't even stay in the area for his kid. Jackson is already saying no to booze and cake out of solidarity.

- I know, Sookie sighed. - I'm very lucky to have him.

- You deserve it. All of it. The great guy, the kid, the whole package.

- You do too, sweetie.

- I guess. Lately, I've been wondering if it'll even happen. Like, maybe I'm one of those people who don't get the whole package you know.

- Don't say that, you'll get there. I just know it.

- Don't have me say I told you so when we're old and wrinkly in the retirement home together, Lorelai laughed.

- You'd probably have forgotten it long before that, Sookie joked. - But, joke aside. There's no way you're not having it all one day. Good things happen to good people and you're one of the best I know and I know some good people. Things are just a bit slow. Before you know it, you'll be there, living it.

- I hope so.

- I know so. You'll find Mr. Right and you'll have your whole package. Who knows, he might even be right in front of your nose.

- I highly doubt it since the two men in front of my nose right now are Jackson and Kirk. And I don't think you'd share Jackson with me.

- Hey, stay away from my man, Sookie mock-warned. - I was more thinking of Luke.

- Sookie, not this again.

- It's obvious, Lorelai. He's had a thing for you for ages and I think you have a thing for him as well.

- He has a girlfriend, Sookie.

- Yes, exactly. You keep denying that you're feeling anything about him, but the moment an other woman steps into the picture, you can't seem to stop talking about that. It was like that with Rachel, when that Chilton mom wanted to make a move at him and it's like that now with Nicole.

- I'm not getting into this with you again, Sookie, there's nothing going on between me and him. He's my friend. Now I need to go get some cake, _excuse me_.

- You can't let it take too long, Sookie warned her, as Lorelai turned around and walked away. - Before you know it, it might be too late.

Sookie didn't see it, but Lorelai knew she was already too late. She had accepted Rachel when she was with Luke. She didn't know why, maybe it was because she and Rachel got so well along, plus she wasn't as aware of her own feelings as she was now. It could've been that Luke seemed a lot more reluctant on letting Rachel in. Maybe that had been why Rachel left. Maybe she'd told him the reason and he was now trying to make up for that with Nicole. All Lorelai knew was that she'd never before seen Luke accomendate himself for someone else the way he did with Nicole. Rachel had even been living at his place and he had to be convinced to make any changes for her. Lorelai had to talk him into letting Rachel get a simple drawer.

It was funny how when you thought about someone you always seemed to bump into them. After the little row with Sookie, Lorelai didn't feel like hanging out with people, so she'd made her way outside. Feeling that it was still a bit too crowded, she'd walked around to the back, where she saw Luke sit on a big rock, a beer in his hand, avoiding everything social as usual. It was actually pretty funny to run into him there. Normally Luke wouldn't even go near a party, just skulk around in the diner, but here without any of her nagging, he'd come. Maybe it was because he knew she would eventually come over to the diner and drag him out.

- Hey, she said, making her way over to him, sitting down on a rock next to his. - Who're you hiding from.

- From Ms and Ms Grab-a-butt, he replied. - Plus every other stinkin' people at this party.

- Do I feature on the list of people you're out to avoid?

- Depends, have you had any of the party punch?

- Not a drop.

- Then no. Sober you I can handle, but I can't take you drunk right now.

- _Luke_, Lorelai exclaimed. - Talk about _dirty_.

- Aw, geez, I've changed my answer. I can't take you sober either.

- Still _dirty_, Lorelai giggled. - Come on, lighten up. If you hate it so much, why're you even here?

- Like you'd let me out of going to your birthday party, he challenged. - I figured if I stayed back here people would stop nagging. Plus I wouldn't have to deal with anyone.

- Anyone, as in Jess?

- Jess, Nicole...

That wasn't one of the names Lorelai expected to come up. At first she felt an indescribable hope that Luke wanted to avoid his girlfriend, but quickly the guilt over feeling hopeful took over. Luke was her friend first and foremost. She wanted his relationship to go well. She didn't want to be someone who took joy in someone else's misery. That wasn't her.

- What, _Nicole_? Why? What happened?

- Lets just say that meeting the parents didn't really go that well.

- They didn't fall for the good old lumber Jack style, Lorelai guessed. - Shocker.

- I wasn't wearing any flannel. I put on a nice shirt, Luke shrugged.

- _What_? You're telling me you went there GQ-ed up and they _still_ didn't accept you? What's wrong with those people?

- Nothing was wrong with them, they were perfectly nice people. I'm the one who screwed up, Luke insisted.

- What happened, Lorelai asked, more softly.

- They kept talking about the future. Marriage and kids. I mean, I'm already weirded out about meeting the parents so soon, to have to discuss these things the first time I meet them, was not what I had in mind. Plus I kept wondering how on earth I'd manage kids at all, and I was thinking about how I'm failing with Jess. One thing led to another and before I knew it I was ranting about how I'm already screwing up with Jess.

- Oh, Luke, Lorelai cringed.

- Yeah, it wasn't the best first impression. So now Nicole wants to talk to me about it and I don't feel like talking right now, so I thought I might as well hide out here.

- You know you'll have to talk to her eventually, Lorelai pointed out. - You might as well get it over with.

- Yeah, I'll talk to her tomorrow. Right now I just don't wanna think about it.

- If it helps, my day sucked too.

- You birthday sucked? You're not freaking out about getting older again, are you?

- No, I'm pretty much set, picked out my loose teeth and my walking cane. It has a bell on it, so I can be like 'watch out, here comes old lady'.

- You're not that old. Geez, you had the same freak-out when you hit thirty. It's just a number, we're all getting older, only differance is that you still don't look a day over twenty-five, he replied and paused for a couple of seconds. - Mentally I'd say you're still sixteen.

Lorelai playfully hit him in the arm.

- I'm not freaking out about getting older, but thanks for reminding me, Lorelai glared. - You know how I told you about the cheque dad gave me and how I didn't know what to do. And you said something about how I'd never have to rely on anyone anymore?

- Yeah?

- Well, I did it. I paid back my parents all the money I owed them for Chilton.

- And how did that go?

- Oh, you know, the usual. You hand someone a cheque and they start yelling at you.

- _What_, Luke exclaimed.

- Oh, I'm sorry, is that not usual out in the real world? Cause in the Gilmore mansion, it sure feels like it's normal prosedure. I mean, I always told them I would pay back every cent the minute I could. The minute arrived and I did just that and instead of being happy about me taking responsibility and be proud of how I take care of myself, my mom is offended.

- Maybe you shouldn't've done it today, he shrugged.

- What? So now you _too_ are on my case about it? First Rory, now you. Geez, I do the right thing and it feels like I'm the only one who knows it.

- I'm just saying, you could've picked a better day than your birthday to do it, that's all, Luke replied, softly. - I mean, why ruin your birthday over that when you have any other day to do it.

- Yeah, maybe, Lorelai sighed.

- You know them well enough to expect this from them. Good thing is now you only have to go back when you want to.

- Yeah. I just wish that for once they could see something I did as positive, I dunno even why I keep trying.

- Why does a dog that gets beaten still love it's master, Luke shrugged.

- Did you just call me a dog?

- Geez, Lorelai. Why'd you have to deliberately missinterperate everything I'm saying, when you know really well what I mean?

- Because it's fun, Lorelai giggled. - But you're right. I guess no matter how much they disappoint me in responding to what I do, I still hope that one day I can tell them that one thing that'll make them proud of me and not find something about it to resent.

- It'll happen, Luke replied.

What was it with everyone keeping on telling her this? Hang in, it would happen. Why was it everyone had more confidense in her future than her? When had she become such a negative person?

- Excuse me, have you even met my parents?

- Yes and I agree that they seem like an impossible situation, but Lorelai, you can do it. I've seen what you can do. When you set your mind on something, you won't take no for an answer. You're strong, you're confident and you're determined to get what you want. You're amazing.

Luke rarely sent a compliment her way. Sure he could comment on her persona in both positive and negative ways, he knew very well how to cheer her up when she was feeling down, but compliments rarely came out of his mouth, which made them more special. Adding the rarity to the sincerety and the force those words had been spoken with, the situation was so tense one could cut it with a knife. She didn't know how to respond to that. Ironi, sarcasm, quips... on those she was the queen bee, but responding to heart felt compliments, she didn't know how to do that. _A joke, a joke, my kingdom for a joke._

- Carefull, she laughed. - Or I might start to believe you.

Luke seemed to accept her reply. She tended to forget how well he knew her. Luke could list all her sweathers at the top of his head if asked. He knew exatly what to say when she was feeling down, often he knew what she was worrying about before she even did. So it made sense that he knew that her nervous joking after receiving a compliment was her way of saying thanks.

- You're welcome, he replied, softly.

They shared a silent moment, or as silent it could get when you were right outside a party, Lorelai found herself looking over at him a couple of times.

- You wanna go back in, she suddenly asked.

- Not really, he answered, not even looking up from his beer.

- Good, she replied. - Me neither.

- You want a beer, he asked, holding up an other bottle for her.

It seemed like now was the first time he truly noticed she was without a drink in her hands.

- I can't, because of Sookie, she replied, receiving a confused look. - It's a solidarity thing.

- All I need to know.

- But thanks for offering.

- It's your birthday, he shrugged.

- Yeah, she replied. - Goodbye thirty-four, hello thirty-five. Do you think it's gonna be a good year?

- It's not new years, he objected.

- Not for you, but for me I have to say a completely new number when someone asks my age.

- It's just a number.

- It's symbolic, Lorelai explained. - It means new opportunities, new chances. Will I get my own Inn? Will I win the lottery? Will I marry Bono this year? Who knows, me and Rory are going to Europe. Who knows what adventure lies there. The possibilities are endless.

- Maybe you'll land in jail for stalking the poor guy, Luke suggested.

- Sure, rain on my parade, she scoffed. - You know what? I think this year will be good. I can feel it.

- You know what, he replied. - So do I.

TBC


	18. This is not the time, Sook

AN: Review-o-rama! Gotta say I love it. Now, if you guys can keep up your end of this, I'll do everything in my power to keep up mine. Short AN today, since the shoutouts pretty much says it all.

**buckice** - Yay! You're reviewing. Waking up and see over 20 new reviews felt like Christmas to me. I see you're having some questions, I'll do my best to answer them. The scene with Luke taking out Nicole really happened before the hospital, but I kinda rewrote the episode a little, so I put it at the end of the episode instead of before. Lorelai being "friendly" with Jess was her making small talk to see if she could get some information about Nicole. And Jess was honestly bored when he asked her the _'penny for your thoughts'_ thing. I'm loving, hearing about your self-control not to skip ahead, but I'm glad you've decided to follow en route. I love hearing your specs, especially how you seem to go back ad forward. I laugh so much each time they change :D lol. I'm very glad you like the way I do Luke, because he isn't the easiest character to write the POV of. I much more prefere to write Lorelai, since I feel I have a very simillar personality. And man, your head is aching and still you keep reading? Forget me being your hero, you're mine! I know that it's taking a long time, I'm testing my own patience and I _know_ when they get together... lol. It would be so easy to jump from special event to special event, but then the story's predictable and I like to for once write one that's _not_ predictable, you know. I'm glad that people are sticking to the story nonetheless and I hope that you, like me will feel the journey to be worthwhile. And I promise this isn't gonna be one of those fics where the story ends at them getting together, I hate those types of stories. I want to continue past that. About what I do, well, like everyone else you'll have to wait and find out. Only a select few people know of my detailed plans, a couple of close real life friends and a couple of online friends I've had for years. I tested the ideas out on them and I've gotten very positive feedback on them, so you can take that with you ;)

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - I'm glad you didn't brush up on your french, cause I had french for five years and I still don't understand it... lol. I'm glad you understand why I had to let Nicole do that and I'm very glad you liked the symbolism talk :) Glad to have you with me :)

**quiddie** - Yay an other new reader, I love getting those! I'm very glad you like the story and how I did the characters. I apologise so very much for my spelling and grammar, being foreign does that to you. I hate having those mistakes, but I also know there are many people a lot worse than me, so that's a comfort... lol. I'll try my best to give you updates before you leave. I write as often as I can.

**Javamaniac** - Wow, you re-read all the chapters? I thought I was the only one who did that... lol, trust me when I say that I'm just as impatient as you, I'm steps away to just jump ahead and write the L/L chapters, but if I did that it'd mean no updates, so I try to keep patient and focus only on the next chapter, whenever I can.

* * *

She claimed temporary insanity. _Why?_ Why did she have to suggest it? When it would be so easy to be selfish, just ignore the situation and let it be, why did she have to complicate things for herself?

_- Hey, if you want, why don't you have her come in Friday night, you guys can stay here at the inn. It'll be on the house._

_Stupid, Gilmore!_ Of course her mouth would never stop and listen to reason, if it had it wouldn't be her mouth, it'd be someone else's and quite frankly, she wasn't sure she'd be that comfortable walking around with someone else's mouth. Not to mention it'd look slightly if not completely ridicculous to be sporting some stranger's lips in substitute of her own. Mentally giggling, she pictured three different situations with herself walking around with different sets of lips than her own before she deemed the whole topic too silly to continue.

Her thoughts returned to Luke. It would've been just so easy to not say anything. He never asked or anything, never expected anyone to offer. Unlike her, he never steered the conversation towards something he was struggling with in hope to have someone offer a suggestion or a helping hand. To make matters worse, whenever there was a problem, he offered to help, never expecting anything in return. Lorelai was painfully aware of this and she cursed herself for being so aware. He was such a good friend to her, she honestly didn't know what she'd do without him. She owed him, even though he'd never say or think it, she knew very well she owed him this and a lot more. Everything he did for her, there was no way she'd ever be able to keep up, even if she was just in it to settle the score. However, there was no score. He was her friend. His happiness meant the world to her and in the end, that was the pressing matter.

- Nah, that's okay, Luke replied.

Normally those words were just polite modesty covering over the sneak-hinting that had occurred moments before, but coming from Luke, she knew it was genuine. Luke was a practical man, always had and always would be. He took care of his own situations and his own messes.

It would be so easy to dismiss it right there and then, end the conversation there and move on to a new topic. She'd be more comfortable, not having to deal with Luke and Nicole right in front of her eyes, Sookie would understand it. Even though Lorelai had yet to admitt her feelings about Luke to Sookie, the plump, eternal chipper chef knew better. As before mentioned, Luke never asked for help, he didn't talk about his problems if he could avoid it. However, she couldn't put her own comfort before his. Being a friend meant to be there for the other always. She couldn't let her own feelings stand in the way of that. There was no other choice than to deal with it.

- It's not like we're kicking out guests for you. If you don't use it, the room will stand here all lonely and empty. You don't want the room to be unhappy, would you, Lorelai replied, throwing in her famous puppy eyes.

- You're insane, Luke laughed. - I don't know...

- Come on, say you'll do it, Lorelai encouraged. - It'll be my way of saying thanks for parading that nice butt around here.

_Good thinking, Gilmore._ It was funny how she always hid behind her humor and even though people knew her as well sometimes even better than she knew herself, they rarely called her on it. Possibly it was because she used humor all the time, so it was harder to discover when it was a cover and when it was genuine. She wasn't one for letting people see through her facade that often. Usually it never happened before she had some sort of breakdown and then usually more came out than she'd like to.

- Geez, Luke replied.

- Don't be embarassed, it's a great butt, Lorelai quipped.

- Please stop.

- Come on, you haven't heard my '_Ode to Luke's butt_' yet.

- Lorelai, he warned.

- Say you'll stay.

- I dunno. Maybe we will. I'll have to talk to Nicole about it. Either way, thanks for the offer.

- My pleasure, I'll ask Michel to keep a room open, not that we'd have to do that since business is a bit slow now-a-days. Oh and what is that, Lorelai said, holding her hand up to her ear as if she was listening to someone behind her. - Yeah, the room passes on it's gratitude.

- Aw geez, Luke muttered.

- _Thank you, Luke. I wouldn't know what I'd do without you, I'd be soooo aloooone_, Lorelai proclaimed in a high pitched voice.

- One of these days, I swear, Luke replied. - Men in white coats will come take you away and I won't do a thing to stop them.

- But then where'd you get your daily entertainment, she grinned.

- Probably from every single other nutcase in this town.

- How can you be saying this? I'm hurt, I'm wounded, Lorelai pouted.

- You'll live, Luke replied, dryly. - I gotta go. See ya.

- Yeah, Lorelai muttered as she watched him go out the door.

Even though she chouldn't see it, she felt at the back of her neck that Sookie was about to say something. The two of them hadn't completely made up from their last row. Sure they worked well enough side by side and Lorelai had come in for a comforting hug just a moment ago, but the eternal arguement about Lorelai's feelings about Luke hadn't been resolved. They had just for work's sake made an unspoken agreement to not bring it up at work. However Lorelai knew her friend well enough to know that right at that moment Sookie was steps away from breaking that agreement.

She was sure she'd never before in her entire life been so grateful for Michel as she was that moment as the rude, sarcastic french man entered the kitchen.

- Did you know that Frank rescues Chow puppies, he asked, excitedly.

- Um, no, Lorelai replied, backing off a couple of inches, bit taken back by the unusual cheeryness in the man.

- He feeds and houses them on his own time until he finds an owner. We can't fire him. And they are so cute, he cooed, pulling out a picture to show her. - Chin-Chin and Pau-Pau. Pau-Pau's the one with the squatty little nose. I took them both.

- Oh wow, that's, you know, great, Lorelai replied. - But...

- I have to go buy dog food, Michel interrupted her. - Will you fire Frank for me? Great, bye-bye.

He didn't stay to hear her reply.

- Great, Lorelai muttered, under her breath.

She turned around to face Sookie.

- So I better...

- Lorelai, she interrupted.

- No, Lorelai replied, determinedly.

She knew what Sookie was gonna say and she didn't want to hear it. She didn't want an other arguement with one of her best friends to end up on a list over things that made this day crap. Knowing her friend the way she did, she made her way out of the kitchen, into the hallway. Of course Sookie followed.

- Lorelai, wait, she pleaded.

- I'm not getting into this again, Sook. Please, just drop it. Please.

- Not until you admitt it.

- There's nothing to admitt, Lorelai stated.

- Why are you doing this, Sookie asked.

- Doing what?

- This. Inviting Luke and Nicole to stay here.

- You heard the predicament they were in. I just thought I would help. With everything he's done for me, it's the least I could do.

- In any other circumstances I'd agree with you, Sookie replied. - But honey, you're setting yourself up for heartbreak and I for one don't want to see you get hurt any more.

- So there was a time you wanted to see me hurt, Lorelai quipped.

- Lorelai.

- For the last time, Luke is my friend. I may not like the way he's changing for his girlfriend, but that doesn't mean I'm harboring these feelings for him. You're putting way too much into this, Sook. With the exception that I have to fire the fourth member off my staff, the fourth very capable and beloved member of my staff I might add, I'm peachy.

- You're not peachy, Lorelai. You don't think I see it, but I do. Every time anyone mentions Nicole, you flinch. You've been miss moody and sensitive for ages. Sure you hide it well under layers and layers of banter and quips, but you forget that I see you every single day and no one, not even you can keep up the facade day after day.

- Nothing's going on, Sook, Lorelai replied, desperately. - Don't you think I would've come to you if there was?

- Normally, yes. But ever since I got pregnant, it's like you've been shielding me or something. I've seen that something's been bothering you and I've tried to get you to open up and even though I love that you're being so conciderate and I love the way you've always stayed strong for me whenever something's gone on in my life, I can't stand seeing you put yourself through this, leaning on no one. I'm pregnant, not an invalide. Talk to me. Please.

Lorelai stood before her friend, throat dry, uncapable in making a single sound. Even though there was masses of truth and wisdom in Sookie's well chosen words and even though Lorelai knew that she was most likely headed for a breakdown at some point, there was some sort of a mental block still present in her head, making her uncapable in letting her friend know how much the situation was in fact killing her.

There were times she forgot how insightful her otherwise ditsy friend was and whenever she was ready admitt it all, her feelings for Luke, her uncertaincy about the future, her fear of loosing Rory to the big world, she was gonna let Sookie know how very much she appreciated it, even though she didn't always express it.

- I ah... I um... I have to go, you know, fire Frank, Lorelai muttered, not even really looking at her friend.

- Lorelai, Sookie begged as Lorelai turned to leave.

- This isn't the time, Sook, Lorelai replied, silently.

TBC


	19. You are in love

AN: You guys are nice and quick and of course I have to do something in return for you, so here's the new chapter ;) A little shoutout to Steph who I consulted when I was struggling a bit. It's always nice to have someone to talk to when you're unsure on how to go on from there. Especially when you refuse to give up any spoilers on what's to come... lol You're great Steph ;) 

**bellybuttonsrcool** - You have no idea how much that review cracked me up. Cause you see I've never before gotten such a _fitting_ review before ;)

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - I like hearing that I have readers that like to wait as well. Too many people are impatient to get to each event. Don't they realize stories end quicker that way. To have the whole journey as well as destination take it's time the story grows longer and hopefully better... That said, I hope people realize I will continue past the "get-together".

**smileyGGfan** - Do you have any idea how much I wanna run up and hug you now? lol. I missed you! And yay, finally caught up! Yeah, your review for chapter 15 came (late) ;) Loved to see someone comment on the apple throwing, I thought it was just something Lorelai would do. And Nicole kissed him, not to gloat, but more "protect what she thinks of as hers". Loved your invented drink, although I don't drink, I'd completely have a Luke and Lorelai on the rocks, think you can give me the recipe? Hopefully a non-alcoholic one... lol. Finally someone who isn't just ranting on how much they hated that episode where Luke and Nicole stayed at the inn, it was something I had to do. The words to "Ode to Luke's butt" will remain confidential for now... lol, but glad that you liked it. Yeah, Sookie is someone who strikes me to have that kind of wisdom. I can only imagine what it's like to have someone you rely on that doesn't want to burden you with their problems. I am often the person people _come_ to talk to.

* * *

When someone said the words 'punctual' or 'reliable', the name Sookie St. James was about as far away from people's minds as it could possibly be. Or if it wasn't there was always a very big flashing _'not'_ in front of it. It made her think of a belt she once saw when she was shopping around for a birthday present for Jackson. It said _'I'm not completely useless, I can be used as a bad example'_. She knew she wasn't useless, she far from thought of herself as useless, she was a brilliant chef for goodness sake. But when it came to punctuality and reliability, that belt was her. 

However with the pregnancy she felt she more and more could be translated into the poster child for punctuality, at least her morningsickness could. Every morning and night around eight, she was forced to drop whatever she had in her hands and dash for the bathroom. Pure clockwork, never failed to happen. She couldn't explain it, her doctor couldn't explain it. According to her doctor Sookie was the first one of his patients to have such an on the schedual pregnancy. It was freaky. She kept wondering if the baby would remain this punctual when it came out. Like would it be hungry on schedual? Sleep on schedual? Would it be one of those babys where you could just hold him or her over the toilet at a certain time, have it do it's business and then claim it to be potty trained? Or was the whole timed morning sickness thing just a reflection of her?

When she first had gotten pregnant and even before when she and Jackson were just discussing kids, she had asked Lorelai to tell her all about her own pregnancy. Just to be a little prepared on what to expect. For Lorelai it had understandably been her eating habits that had been reversed, but those hadn't changed that much for Sookie, sure she'd been having some troubles cooking at the Inn, but that really had been all minor adjustments. There had been no real drastic change in her diet, but being a chef her diet was always very varied, so it wasn't like she'd notice it that well. Plus it was still early and it could change at any minute. She couldn't just assume that this was it. She was well aware that there would be more to come.

However these clockwork bathroom visits had completely changed her daily rhytm in the way that she now actually had a rhytm. She was no longer late for work as she had to avoid getting sick on the way at all costs. She always set her kitchen staff to work before excusing herself for about an hour and then returned freshned up to plan lunch. True with the no stove the routine was simpler, but it was there. Sookie St. James never had a routine before.

But as it was now it was no surprise when she Friday night promptly at eight found herself once again head down the toilet that she once had jokingly referred to as _Buttercup_ for Lorelai's amusement, which had for some reason stuck. She had just finished and was in the kitchen cutting up some fruit for an evening snack when the door bell rang. Only taking the time to wipe her hands, she left the fruit and knife on the counter and made her way to the door, finding Lorelai on the other side.

- You were right Sook, she muttered in a raspy voice.

Lorelai had never before let her see her this way, so raw, so vulnerable. Sookie could see the vague traces of tears, the red puffy eyes, her face was paler than Sookie could ever remember it to be. To sum it up, Lorelai looked nothing short of exhausted, physicly, mentally. If she'd ever looked like she'd needed a hug before, there was no doubt about it now and that was exactly what Sookie did. She pulled her best friend into a comforting hug, stroking her hand up and down her back, whispering over and over that it would be okay. How long they blocked the doorway like that, she had no idea, but sometime later Lorelai was curled up on the couch, clutching a pillow in front of her. She hadn't yet said anything about what had happened and Sookie was getting restless just seeing her friend like that.

- Hey, you want something? I dunno what we have, but I can check if you like. I'm sorry we have no booze, cause this really seems like a drown-your-sorrows moment, but Jackson's no longer letting it into the house since he's not drinking because of the promise he made at your birthday party and well, I'm pregnant so obviously I'm not having any, plus I just found out the smell of beer makes me kinda nauseous now, so...

- I already have a headache, Sook, Lorelai interrupted. - So I don't think booze would help.

- I'm afraid I don't have much in comfort food either, cause we read this thing that whatever you're eating, that's what your kids will be eating and we want to, you know, try to set a good example, so... I'm sorry, I really don't have anything for this kind of thing, except fruit. We have a lot of fruit, but I know you don't like fruit so...

- Honestly. At this point, I think if you'd offered me tofurkey, I'd eat it.

- Ok, fruit it is. I'll be right back, Sookie replied awkwardly.

Heading into the kitchen, Sookie felt all sorts of pressure on her shoulders. She had never before seen Lorelai like this. Lorelai was her rock, someone she could always count on for advice, to be strong whenever she had a breakdown herself. She wanted to do good here, she wanted to truly show Lorelai the same support she'd received throughout all these years and she wasn't sure if she'd cut it. What did she know about giving advice about such things? What if she failed and just made everything worse?

But she couldn't bail on her, she'd just have to go back in and do her best. Picking up the two bowls with cut up fruit, she returned to the livingroom, handing one bowl to Lorelai who hadn't moved an inch from her spot and sat down in the recliner next to the couch. Neither one knowing where to start they ate in silence, until Lorelai suddenly let out a chuckle.

- You know, if Luke was here he'd be so proud. I think this is the first fruit I've eaten this year that hasn't just been a compromise to get coffee.

- I'll be your witness if that helps, Sookie quipped.

Starting light seemed like the best approach. At least her friend wasn't just sitting there anymore. A pebble had been dropped into the water, soon the ripples would be happening.

- I feel like such an idiot. You know how I say I sometimes after a Friday Night Dinner feel shorter? Well tonight I felt miniscule.

- I thought you didn't go to Friday Night Dinners anymore, Sookie replied, confused.

- I don't.

- Then, what happened?

- Luke took the offer, you know. To stay at the Inn tonight. Of course Michel didn't mention that little detail when I agreed to do Turndown service.

- Oh my, Sookie cringed. - Was it awfull?

- I'm not really looking to repeat performance anytime soon. I couldn't remember what to do and the fire wouldn't start and in general I felt like an idiot, the way I kept talking and the way I ended the talking. I mean _'have fun'_? I might've just said get to business... God, what was I thinking. No correction, what was my mouth thinking when it invited them over? I can barely handle _hearing_ them make plans, let alone see them... there, all ready to...

Lorelai stopped mid-sentence for obvious reasons.

- You were just trying to be a good friend, Sookie pointed out.

- What a friend I am, Lorelai muttered. - I can't even do this right. After everything he's done for me. He's always gone up and beyond the call of duty to help...

- You're a great friend, Lorelai. He had a situation and you offered a solution. It was a really nice thing.

- I didn't want to do it. God, I'm so selfish. And I promised. I promised myself that I was gonna accept this. I was gonna put away my feelings and just be happy for Luke.

The last sentence didn't fall on deaf ears. Sookie's eyes widened and she felt her heart going on double, no _triple_ rate.

- Yuh-huh, she croaked in reply.

- How am I gonna do this, Sook? Like you said, I flinch the minute someone mentions her name, I don't even wanna think about how I am around her. The minute I stepped out of that room, I sank down on the floor. I had to convince the other guests I did Turndown for that I was having a severe case of allergies and that I was fine, while in reality I had a sever headache and had just seen the man I'm in love with probably minutes away from doing his girlfriend, so obviously I wasn't fine...

Sookie had a sharp intake of breath and her hands flew up to her mouth to prevent a squeal from coming out, as she knew this was far from the appropriate time to make a happy dance, even though there was nothing else she felt like doing at this point. She wanted to jump up, squeal and sing over and over again that her best friend was in love. However, for Lorelai's sake, she remained seated and waited patiently for her friend to realize what she had just said.

Minutes that felt like hours passed and Sookie grew more and more impatient. At this point she was twitching and turning in her seat.

- What, Lorelai asked.

- You're in love, Sookie sang, cheerfully, failing to hold back the excited gestures.

Looking ready to object to it all, Lorelai instead went into a pensive state and buried her head in her hands.

- I mean, I knew you had feelings for him, but to think you're in love, Sookie sighed.

- Sookie, this isn't a good thing, Lorelai groaned.

- What? Why, Sookie asked with a dampened spirit.

- Nicole, Lorelai simply replied. - She's why.

- You're not even gonna tell him?

- What good would that do?

- I dunno, maybe give him a choice? Give him a chance to make a choice?

- Say I did do that. Say I told Luke exactly how I feel and the town was wrong, he doesn't think of me as more than a friend. Then things would get awkward between us and I'd've jeopardised one of my most important friendships for nothing. Or say he _did_ feel something and chose me over Nicole and then things went to hell as all my other relationships so far has and it turns out maybe Nicole was in fact the girl for him and he'd thrown it all aside for me... I wouldn't be able to live with myself.

- So you're just gonna say nothing? What if the reason he's even with Nicole is that he's lonely and thinks he doesn't have a chance in hell with you?

- I have no choice, Lorelai simply said. - I ran away from Max, because I was deep down still hung up on the thought that me and Chris were the ones supposed to end up together. After realizing that me and Chris probably never were right for each other and I had moved on from that naive fantasy scenario, for months I kept wondering if I had made the right choice with Max or if I had simply blown it because I was still, for some reason holding onto this dream scenario of mom, dad, kid, the whole package. Luckily for me turning down Max was the right choice, but it could've easily been not. And I can't do that to Luke, I can't let him go through the same thing. I have to believe that if him and Nicole aren't right, then time will show it and if they are, then I'll have to find a way to accept it.

- And you're sure this is what you want to do, Sookie asked. - Think about what you're risking here.

- It's the only scenario I can live with. If Nicole wasn't in the picture then things would've been different, but she is. Luke, Mr. _'I don't change'_ is making changes to include her in his life and that alone is proof enough on how much he likes this woman. And if I'm even remotely his friend...

- You _are_ his friend, Sookie insisted.

- Then I have to respect that, don't I?

Being a hopeless romantic it was nothing short of difficult to agree to what Lorelai was saying. No matter how good of a point she was making. Ever since Lorelai had voiced her interesst in what Rachel was like, Sookie had been dreaming of the day when her two best friends would wake up and smell the attraction. It had been nothing like this. It hadn't been Lorelai coming to her in tears, it hadn't been Luke giving up hope and getting together with someone else.

- So.., Sookie said, breaking the silence. - How are you holding up?

- I think the fact that I've felt better after seeing my parents pretty much sums it up.

- Do you wanna stay the night? I can make up the couch for you.

- Thanks, but I gotta get home.

- You gonna be okay?

- I'll get there, right now I just need to, I dunno, stuff my face, find a distraction of some kind. Rory's at a party tonight, there's bound to be something there, right? It's funny. I think this is the only time I'll ever wish I had the bad kid, cause then I'd have all the distractions in the world to focus on.

- Well, here's to hoping, Sookie shrugged.

- Yeah, Lorelai replied with a half smile. - Hey Sook?

- Yeah?

- I know I've not been the best friend lately, I've taken out my frustrations on you and it's not fair.

- It's okay, sweetie. Maybe I was a bit on your case.

- No, Lorelai objected. - You weren't. You didn't point out anything I didn't know myself. I don't really know why I snapped like that. I don't always tell you this, but the way you can see things before I do, I love that about you. I mean, you knew back with the whole Rachel ordeal how I felt about Luke.

- Before, Sookie admitted. - The Rachel thing just kinda confirmed it.

- Has it been that obvious? How is it that this was obvious to everyone but me?

- Sometimes whatever's right in front of you, is what's hardest to see. Or...

- Or what?

- Maybe you just didn't wanna let yourself see it, Sookie suggested.

- Yeah, Lorelai murmured. - I guess you really don't see what you have until you loose it.

- That's _almost_ loose it, hun.

- When did you become such an expert on words of wisdom, Lorelai quipped.

- Every morning and evening from 8 to 9 for the past month, Sookie jokingly replied.

It wasn't that she thought she'd made it all better and that Lorelai was fine again. Sure she was confident that talking about it, getting it out in the open had helped her friend, but this wasn't something you fixed over night. Lorelai had reached the point where she'd use anything as a distraction if nessesary and Sookie respected that. The most important thing was that Lorelai had finally let herself open up about it. That was what mattered.

TBC


	20. Double speed DVD player

AN: You guys wanted me to hurry, so I'm hurrying, just as long as this means you'll hurry with the reviews as well, or else I might not be so very nice ;) And an other shoutout to Steph for helping me brainstorm when I was stuck.

**flcrkr** - Glad you're liking the other character POV's, here's an other one for you... lol

**bellybuttonsrcool** - See? I told you your review was fitting... lol

**primesetter** - Aww, I'm sorry to hear that. Hope it worked out for you.

* * *

- Mom, Rory called as she stumbled over the threshold, wanting more than anything else for this bad day to end.

She never thought she would, but she wished this had been her returning from a Friday Night Dinner. Then she wouldn't have gone to this stupid party. She wouldn't have to witness Jess' foul mood all night, watch her best friend not only get insanely drunk, but also calling her own mother to tell her all about it. She wouldn't've ended up in a room alone with Jess and had to tell him she wasn't ready. She wouldn't be doubting her own boyfriend's intentions. Part of her wanted to be angry with Jess, say right out that he was a jerk and that she was glad she didn't sleep with him, but the other part of her was just wondering where the real Jess was. This wasn't her boyfriend. True Jess was very much a 'who cares' kind of guy and he hadn't been the most reliable to make plans with, but lately he had done well and even if not he had never before this been so stand-off-ish with her. If anything, since coming to Stars Hollow, he had opened up to exactly one person. She knew it. So ignoring her voice of reason, she heard herself ask one question. _What happened?_

There was no doubt that her mom was still up. Even if she hadn't hears the unmistakable sounds of her mother watching tv, she'd know it. Lorelai never went to bed before Rory was safely home again. Or, well, there was one time she'd gone to a dance with Dean and Lorelai had unmistakably said she'd _'woken up and found her kid missing'_. But if that had been an intentional going to sleep or if it had something with nodding off while waiting, she wasn't sure. Whether one or the other thing was the case, she knew very well that Lorelai Gilmore wouldn't go to bed, knowing her daughter was at a party with Jess, a boy she still wasn't completely comfortable around. Her trail of thoughts was interrupted by her mother giggling at whatever it was she was watching.

- Mom, Rory called again after kicking off her shoes.

- _Living room_, Lorelai shouted in a slightly too cheery voice. - _How was the party?_

- I have yet to decide what I'd rather do at this point, Rory replied, ignoring the first sign of something being off and making her way into the living room, where she found her mother sitting with the DVD player on pause. - Sit through a Linkin' Park Concert or get a Root Canal.

- Jikes...

- I just want this day to go away.

- I have the perfect solution to that, Lorelai chirped. - _Sit_ and _watch_.

- You're in a weird mood, Rory commented, remaining standing.

- I'm perky.

- My point exactly.

- I'm perky all the time, how can that even be concidered weird?

- Although I'd say that to be a slight exaggeration, to be perky is usual for your normal self, but lately you've been all moody and sensitive.

- I have _not_, Lorelai objected.

- You have too.

- Have _not_.

- You so have too.

- Okay, now we're four, Lorelai commented. - And I have not.

- You snapped at me yesterday when I wouldn't let you eat the cold stale week-old pizza in the fridge.

- Again, I'm very sorry about that, but I had a bad day at work, I was hungry and you were standing between me and the first thing that day that concidered me it's equal.

- And when you haven't been snapping, you've been all quiet and sensitive. You cried during an infomersal last week, so having you back in happy, perky mood all of a sudden is making me a little weary. That's all.

There was more she wanted to say, but she had a feeling that her mom would just deny it all. Even though the scene in front of her was weird, when she thought about it, things had been off for a while now. What bothered Rory was that she couldn't determine when things had changed, what event. The arguement she'd seen her have with Sookie at her birthday party was too recent to be the cause. Things had been weird before that. The Inn burning down had increased her moms stress level, there was no doubt about it. It could easily explain the mood swings. Lorelai Gilmore wasn't one to function well under too much stress, her temper always got the best of her. But Rory had noticed some vibes even before that. _The acceptance letters._ It made sense and even explained why Lorelai wouldn't just tell her.

For almost as long as Rory could remember, they had talked about Harvard in a longingly way. She was gonna rule the world and seize the opportunities her mother never got. It wasn't because that was what Lorelai wanted, Rory wanted it too. Before they had even begun talking about the Harvard dream, Lorelai had underlined the importance that Rory chose her own path, what was right for her. Rory hadn't been shaped, like the Harvard drones she'd seen at the Alumni dinner the two of them had attended. She knew that if she'd chosen the path of the third child in that family, Lorelai would accept it. Sure she'd be disappointed, but she wouldn't treat the matter as if Rory was at some clinic with a needle stuffed up her arm. Because to Lorelai the only thing that mattered was that her kid was happy and safe, and did what she wanted to do in her life. Rory knew that.

So they both wanted it and they had celebrated it both when the letters arrived and when they finally let the choice on which college land on Yale. Rory did wonder if it was the fact that they _had_ chosen Yale, even after all the commotion about the college choice in the Gilmore mansion, was something that bothered Lorelai. In a way she could see why, Richard Gilmore had ever since heard of their Harvard dream tried to point their attention towards Yale instead. And it was a well known fact how much Lorelai Gilmore hated pleasing her parents. But Rory hadn't picked up any fake vibe with Lorelai's happy smile when they had announced that they had chosen Yale over Harvard, which lead her to believe that her mother was in fact happy with the choice. What was more likely the thing was what the finalizing the college plans meant. Rory was moving out, sure it was only on weekdays, but still. They had barely survived her summer in Washington, for goodness sake.

It had been the two of them always. Now that Lorelai no longer was seeing Alex and she had against all signs _not_ gotten back together with Max, when Rory moved out Lorelai would be left alone in the house. Rory wasn't too fond on the idea of suddenly living somewhere else than the Crap Shack, but she knew it would be even harder on her mom. She had no significant other in her life and she wasn't a cat person, plus no one in their right mind would allow her to get a pet for the animal's own safety. It wasn't strange that she worried about her mom, but it was a transition they had both known was coming. So no matter how the thought probably scared both of them just as much, it was something they had to go through.

Maybe some other day they could air out their insecurities and worries, but as of right now Lorelai definately wasn't open for that discussion, so Rory let it rest.

- What are you watching anyway, she asked.

- Angel, that episode where he turns human. It's _brilliant_!

- Oh come on mom, you _hate_ that episode.

- I do not, Lorelai objected.

- You do too, you said it was so cotton candy perfection it made you wanna puke. And then you paid me five bucks to remind you of this if you ever thought about watching it again.

- Okay, I may have said that, Lorelai admitted. - But you have to understand one thing. I wasn't in a right state of mind back then. I'd just broken up with Max, so I was sad and depressed and lonely and moody...

- Opposed to.., Rory replied, letting the answer hang in the air.

Would her mother bite, would she air out her worries and let them have the talk?

- Plus, then I was watching it at normal speed, where I'm now watching at double speed. The characters finally talk as fast as we do. And once you've seen the kitchen scene that way, I swear to you, you will never go back.

Apparently not.

- How did you get it to play double speed, Rory asked. - I didn't even know it could do that.

- I um... kinda stepped on the remote when I was searching for it.

- You broke the DVD remote?

- No, not broke, Lorelai insisted. - Enhanced it.

- So once finding out what had happened, you reversed it?

- Not exactly, Lorelai admitted.

- But you know _how_ to reverse it, right?

- Um... no, Lorelai replied, sheepishly. - But look at it this way, this is so much more time efficient. We can enhance movie night, go through twice as many movies than usual, plus we'll have to rewatch every single film we've seen, cause at double speed it's like they become whole new movies. Plus we'll never be bored, cause we'll have more to keep up with. Oooh, challenge, we'll watch Animaniacs sing the songs about all the Countries and all the Presidents and try to sing along.

- Mom.., Rory groaned.

- I'll get a new player tomorrow, Lorelai sighed. - But come on, you've _got_ to watch this.

Giving into her mother's wishes, Rory took the seat next to her while Lorelai skipped back a couple of chapters. It was nice to see that something still worked normally on that remote. The minute Lorelai pressed play however, it was back to playing double pace. Whatever it was that broke, it wouldn't be fixed easily.

The first minutes did bring a smile on Rory's face. It hadn't just been her crazy mother's hallusinations that everything became new movies with double pace. As they reached the kiss at the pier scene, Rory broke into a giggle and as they reached the kitchen scene it got worse.

- I feel like we should be playing _William Tell_ in the background or something, Rory giggled.

- Oooo totally, we'll do that next time, make our own soundtrack. It'll be our new project, Lorelai replied, eagerly.

- We'll put it on the list, Rory promised her, remembering very well her mother's habits on starting many projects and leaving them all half-done.

- So what's the verdict, doctor, Lorelai asked.

Rory cracked a smile at the mentioning of the nickname she'd received during her summer in Washington, when Lorelai would call and wake her up almost every night because of a new dream. There were times Rory had believed her mother was making up the dreams just to make an excuse to talk to her. Knowing Lorelai, it wasn't that weird of an assumption. She wondered if there would be coming any simillar calls at Yale. Pushing the thoughts of Yale to the back of her head, she just gave her mother a smile.

- I'll help you pick out a new player tomorrow, she promised. - But lets not throw this one away.

- See, Lorelai teased. - You liked it, missy.

- Not for everyday use, Rory stated. - But it comes in handy when you're trying to get a bad day behind you.

- And on a scale of one to ten, how much is it helping?

- I'd say about a five, maybe six.

- _Five_? _Six_, Lorelai asked in shock.

She got why the number was such a shock to her mom. Even with the entertainment, Rory hadn't forgotten about her bad day, but she got how it would work for someone _looking_ for a distraction. And knowing her mother, she'd manage to get distracted by less than that if she went in to be distracted.

- It's been a really bad night, Rory explained.

- Aww, hunny, Lorelai cooed. - Lie down get comfortable and tell me all about it.

- You're gonna play psychiatrist on me, Rory joked.

- Sure, it'll be fun. You'll tell me all about your childhood and I'll sit in a chair and say _'hmm, interessting'_ after every other sentence and not really listen to it and at the end I'll give you some completely useless advice that you'll never follow anyway, Lorelai quipped. - Just call me Dr. Phil.

- I hope you realize Dr. Phil would direct the blame towards the mother, Rory pointed out.

- Ok, maybe you should call me something else.

- Plus, Rory continued. - Bald? Not your look.

- Changing it to _Dr. Wazoo_ as we speak.

- And you're saying this with the intention for me to take you seriously?

- Of course not, who in their right mind would want to be taken seriously?

- Mom...

- Allright, _Dr. Brown_ it is, I bet you, you can't come up with a more boring name than that.

- No, I think you hit the nail on that one, Rory agreed.

- Good to know, Lorelai replied. - Now, tell me about the party.

- Where to start, Rory sighed.

- How about Lane's band. We could start there, Lorelai suggested. - Did the gig go well?

- Oh they rocked. At least during the first set they did.

- What happened at the second set?

- They never got to it. Lane got drunk, then the cops showed up...

- Wait, what is that, Lorelai interrupted. - Lane got drunk? _Lane_ got drunk?

- Did you even hear the part where the cops showed up, Rory asked.

- Sweets, I halfway expected them to turn up eventually. Lane Kim getting trashed? I never thought I'd see the day. How on earth's she gonna hide that one from her mom?

- Oh, that won't be an issue, Rory assured her.

- Come on, this is Mrs. Kim we're talking about, Lorelai replied. - To that woman _dancing_ is the eight deadly sin.

- And for some people it should be, but that's not what I meant. Hiding it from Mrs. Kim won't be an issue because Lane called her from the party and told her all about it.

- Oh no, Lorelai cringed. - They will never find the body. Why? _Why_ on earth would Lane even _think_ about doing that? What drove her to that act of insanity?

- The amount of beer in her system together with the never ending debacle with Dave Rygalski and Young Chui is a good start.

- Boys, of course it had to be boys. What happened?

- Basicly Dave is tired of Young Chui following Lane, wherever she goes and today he found out that Young Chui's in love with her.

- He is? Didn't he have a girlfriend? I am so behind on events, Lorelai rambled. - Why? _Why_ am I being kept out of the loop on this?

- Yes he is. Him and his girlfriend broke up. And _when_ in the last couple of weeks have we had the time to discuss Lane's love life?

- Ok, valid point, but I hate being out of the loop on this. So what happened at Mrs. Kim, cause the way I understand it, Lane would not be best left alone.

- I wholeheartedly agree, but I don't know, Dave said he'd take her, Rory shrugged and suddenly found the floor fascinating as she continued. - I guess he thought I wanted to check up on Jess.

- And why would Jess need checking up on, Lorelai asked suspiciously. - Last I checked he was pretty capable on checking up on himself. I wouldn't recommend it, but still...

- Dean and Jess got into a fight, Rory explained, quickly.

- Oh, Lorelai replied, only halfway surprised. - About you?

- Yes, Rory sighed.

- Doesn't Dean have a girlfriend now?

- He does.

- But he's still fighting over you?

- They weren't really fighting _over_ me. Dean saw me coming downstairs from Kyle's bedroom, crying.

- W-what, Lorelai stuttered. - He _what_?

- ...and Jess was coming down after me, Rory continued. - So Dean punched him, Jess punched him back and that's how the fight began. So...

- Hun, back up, what was it I heard about Kyle's _bedroom_? What exactly happened in Kyle's bedroom.

- Nothing. Jess had kinda been in this off mood all night, so I'd been looking for him to, you know, cheer him up a bit and finally found him hiding out in Kyle's bedroom. So we were kissing and we ended up on the bed and it seemed like Jess wanted to...

- ...have sex, Lorelai finished.

- Yeah.

- And did you?

- No.

- No?

- No. I said I wasn't ready and we both got off the bed.

- Just checking. I suppose if it had, I'd at least be glad you waited three more years than me.

- Nothing happened, Rory underlined.

- Got the memo. I just don't want to be out of the loop on this when it does.

- You'll be the first I tell, I promise.

- Good, Lorelai sighed. - Then what happened? You said you were crying when you came down the stairs.

- Well. We got into a fight, me and Jess.

- About sex?

- That's the thing. I don't know. I asked him if that's how he thought it would happen and he just snapped at me.

- Sweetie, if he's mad at you for not sleeping with him, then he's a jerk.

- I know that, but I dunno. The way he was behaving, I'm telling you, that wasn't the Jess I know.

- Boys behave differently under the influence of hormones. I'm sorry, but it's true and I've gotta say I'm not that surprised.

- That's because you don't see the Jess I see.

- No, the difference is that I don't have my hormones clouding what I see. You know I've tried to like Jess, from the very first day when he bluntly insulted me in my own house and even now when he's just snapped at you for not sleeping with him, I'm trying, for your sake. But I can't. I'm sorry, but if he can't treat you right, then he doesn't deserve you. You have no idea how much I'm fighting the urge to go over there right now and just rip the boy's head off.

- Mom, Rory simply said.

- I'll be good, Lorelai sighed. - But one more thing and I swear, I won't be responsible for my actions.

- Thanks mom.

Lorelai put her arms around her and Rory felt a kiss being pressed onto her temple.

- I'm glad you told me, Lorelai told her.

- I am too.

- I love you, kid.

- Love you too, mom.

TBC


	21. Damnit, he was not there

AN: Here's an other chapter. So what's new... well my group got an estimate on what we would earn on the program we're making (and it's a LOT), so now I have to really work on figuring out some stuff, so should I be late with updates, you now know why. It shouldn't stop you from reviewing, though, cause I will be more encouraged to write if more people review.

**buckice** - Hey, you're back. Loving the long reviews. I very much agree with your opinion on "write more" reviews. Sure it's lovely to get them, better than nothing, they really don't do that much for me than remind me that the person is reading my story... lol. And what you said about the conflict, it makes sense. And 1 am isn't late. Lately I've been going _to_ bed around 6,7,8 even 9 am. Glad you noticed Sookie's line. It doesn't hold major importance, it was a semi-coinsidencem really. And how close friends Luke and Sookie are is always up for debate, but in my opinion I don't think they're just tolerating each other because of Lorelai. I mean look at 3x17 where they're cooking breakfast together and enjoying each other company whilst doing it, that's more than tolerating each other. On the whole 'not marrying Max' I think Lorelai's convinced herself that it was because of Chris, if you know what I mean. And thanks for the correction, I hear a word in my head and I get confused on the single versus double vowel thing. It's okay to think I didn't capture Rory, she's not one of my fave characters either. Despite being my age (about 5 months younger actually, the character, not sure about the actress... lol) and us having a simillar relationship with our moms (only my mom was 34 when she had me), we're nothing alike. Sure we both love to write, but I'm fiction, she's journalism. It's okay to not find the Rory/Jess thing interessting. I don't really ship Rory, though I do have a preferance for Jess post season 3. That's not mainly why I'm sticking the Jess storyline in here. To write a story about Lorelai you have to include Rory in some way, unless of course you write an early season 6 story and even then, there should be at minimum some thoughts about her. And since Rory at this point has something major going on, it was only plausible to have her share it with Lorelai. This isn't turning into lit, narco or rogan. The story is about Lorelai, Luke, LL and what they have going on, which in this case is Rory.

**bellybuttonsrcool** - Yes, Rory did tell Lorelai in the show, though not at the same point as I chose to have her tell her. Rory told Lorelai the episode after. The fight early in the episode and the rest about Jess late in the episode. I'm honored you like the story so much. I'll do my best not to disappoint you... lol

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - Actually I can confide in my mother like that. I can talk to her about anything. We do choose to keep certain things private, but I talk to her all the time about boys I like, girls I like. It took me less than a week to tell my mom I was dating a girl and mom wasn't yet aware that I was bi, despite I had always thought I'd laid out all the signs... oh well... lol

**smileyGGfan** - Of course you get a paragraph, though you would've gotten several if you could just keep up with reading when I post new stuff... lol Just a small hint. I'm glad the drink won't taste like a My little Pony, cause I don't know if I could take it. Glad more people loved the "Comfort food" line... lol

* * *

- Hey mom, her daughter asked, as the two made their way to the car. - How are you holding up?

- I was negotiating at a funeral, Lorelai groaned.

- Yes you were.

- Is that the only thing you're gonna say? You're supposed to try and make me feel better.

- No, you're mistaking my job for yours. The perk of actually being the kid in this relationship. Although at times I do wonder...

- Funny, Lorelai replied.

- I think so.

- That established it's not your moral duties as daughter I'm referring to. By refusing to cheer me up, you, my friend are breaking the best friend code severely.

- What best friend code?

- The universal best friend code.

- Is this an un-written code?

- Yes, but just as valid.

- Uhuh. So which section of this so-called _code_ is it I'm breaking?

- Do not mock my code, Lorelai scoffed. - It's the bit that says _'though shalt not fail to cheer your best friend up when she completely humiliates herself at Fran's funeral'_

- So specific, Rory teased. - I'm still not taking any blame for failing to talk you out of doing it in the first place.

- Why didn't you?

- Hello? No force on earth was gonna stop you. Not to mention Sookie. You guys were on a mission and there was little I could do to stop you.

- _Aha_, so you admitt you could've done something.

- You're just trying to missplace the blame, so you don't have to think about it, Rory pointed out.

- Yes I am.

- And how's that working for you?

- Motion to change the subject to a completely different one?

- Motion granted.

Letting her eyes wander a bit, Lorelai suddenly spotted a gorgeous red dress in the window to her right.

- Ooo, hey, come here, look at this, she said, looking over at her daughter. - I think that one would look good on you.

- It's nice, Rory replied, distantly.

- Okay, so maybe it's not perfect, but we still have time, Lorelai said, with an encouraging smile. - We could even go see if there's anything good in Hartford. How about I meet you there after school tomorrow. We could make a day out of it.

- I don't really feel like shopping for prom dresses, mom.

- Why'd... oh, Lorelai said as it dawned on her. - He's not even taking you now? After saying he would? Oh, I swear, I'm gonna...

She felt Rory's hand grab hers as she tried to head for the diner and pull her with her in the direction of their house instead.

- Mom, you promised, Rory reminded her. - You said one more thing and he hasn't done anything yet. I dunno if the prom's happening or not. We haven't talked since...

- Since Kyle's bedroom, Lorelai stated.

- Please, Rory begged.

- Allright, consider it dropped, Lorelai sighed.

They walked side by side in silence until Lorelai couldn't take it anymore.

- I just hate that you're gonna miss your prom because of that jerk.

- How is this dropping it, Rory wanted to know.

Lorelai was about to answer, when they rounded the corner and she stopped dead in her tracks.

- Luke, she silently muttered.

- What's he doing here, Rory pondered, curiously.

- I have no idea...

Her stomach churned. She hadn't really seen nor talked to him since she'd accidentally admitted to Sookie that she was in love with the guy. For a moment she wondered if that was why he was there. Had Sookie accidentally let it slip? After all it was universally known that Sookie was just as bad at keeping secrets as Lorelai was. Plus the fact that Sookie was a hopeless romantic didn't discourage the idea. However letting the theory play out in her mind, Lorelai came to the conclution that that couldn't be it. First of all the whole town would've known by now and Lorelai had yet to be stopped and confronted on the matter. More importantly, Luke looked downright upset and who looked upset after hearing that someone loved them? Unless Sookie worded it badly...

By the time Lorelai had finished her little thought tirade they had reached the porch... and Luke.

- Hey Luke, Rory chirped, when neither Lorelai nor Luke said anything.

- Hey, he replied.

When he didn't say anything more, Lorelai started once more to wonder if she'd been wrong about her conclusion. He seemed so awkward around the two of them and she knew her being mute wasn't helping the situation much.

- So, I'm gonna do my homework, Rory exused herself and headed into the house.

When Lorelai had caught Rory's baffled expression, she knew her daughter hadn't been oblivious to the tension currently residing between herself and Luke and once inside those doors she would have to come up with an explanation as of why. The thing was, with Sookie the whole telling her she was in love with Luke had been a slip-up. She hadn't even before that moment admitted that part to herself. Feelings, yes. But that she was in love? She knew once the words came out that they were true, but it didn't mean she wanted the world to know. In addition to it, her daughter had enough worries on her mind. Graduation, preparing for college, waiting for financial aid that still hadn't gotten through, not to mention her idiot boyfriend, who hadn't exactly gotten on Lorelai's good side since well, ever. She didn't want to burden her daughter more with this whole Luke-thing.

Neither she or Luke had spoken a word to each other at this point and as Lorelai's feet had started to hurt from her not sitting down since the funeral before noon, she took the liberty to sit down on the porch right next to him. She pondered in how to start up the conversation when Luke finally spoke.

- Do you think I'm a bad parent?

One thing was for sure, Luke didn't beat around the bush or started a conversation lightly. Like with most guys it was directly to the matter.

- What? No, Lorelai replied. - How can you even think so?

- Oh come on, Lorelai. You know exactly why I think so. He's skipping school, getting into fights, coming and going as he pleases.

- And before he came he was such an angel, Lorelai replied dryly. - You didn't make him this way, he just didn't change.

- Exactly, Luke pointed out. - He hasn't. Two years and he's exactly the same person he was when he got here.

- Luke, Jess is a troubled kid. You shouldn't expect miracles.

- He promised me, Luke rambled. - He wanted to come back, I let him, but I told him that there had to be some changes. He was gonna go to school, he was gonna graduate. You know what I found out tonight?

- He's not graduating?

- He's not graduating, Luke confirmed. - And you wanna know why? It isn't that he's not smart enough. He reads books I'd never be able to get through. One would think he'd ace tests easily and apparently he can, if he'd only bothered to show up.

- But you knew he was skipping school, Lorelai reminded him. - This isn't anything new.

- And that makes it worse, Luke exclaimed. - I knew and still I couldn't prevent it.

- Luke, Lorelai said, putting her hand on his arm.

- He's gone. Jess is gone.

- Gone?

- After blowing up about his not graduating, I left the appartment to cool off. When I came back, him and all his stuff were gone.

- Just like that, Lorelai asked, not surprised about the event, but about how sudden it happened.

- I may have kicked him out, Luke admitted. - I was angry, I told him he'd stay one more year, quit his job at Wall-Mart and graduate next year and he said no. So I told him he'd have to go. For once he actually listened to me. Who would've thought?

He said the last thing with a chuckle.

- Luke, I'm sorry, Lorelai told him, genuinely. - I know I haven't exactly been the most tolerant towards Jess.

- No, you were right all along. The guy's trouble. I'm actually relieved he's gone. Ever since coming here he's been giving me nothing but trouble. I say good riddance. Let him fall on his face and actually learn the consequences of his action. I'm through watching his back, Luke ranted and then silently added. - But then I catch myself thinking it and...

- You didn't do anything wrong, Lorelai repeated.

- No, Luke objected. - I failed him. I snooped around in his stuff. I mean, what parent does that?

- Normally I'd say not a very good one, Lorelai admitted. - But come on, you had to do something. He's never given you a single reason in the time he's been here to trust him. It's not like you expected him to screw up. You chose to ignore my warning because you wanted to give him a fair chance to start over. You did everything you could and he just threw everything back in your face.

- I should've listened to you.

- No, Lorelai sighed. - Do I think you should've accepted some help a little sooner? Yes, you should've. But neither of us could've known it'd get this bad. For all we knew he could've been willing to start over and if you'd listened to me and antisipated trouble, then things would probably've ended just as bad.

She squeased his arm and looked him in the eyes.

- I don't always understand where your family loyalty comes from, since I couldn't run far enough away from mine. But I know that you'd go out of your way for every single one in yours, regardless how you felt about them.

- It's what you do, Luke shrugged.

Lorelai smiled. If they hadn't been sitting down, she'd be giving him a hug right about then. However the angle of the way they were sitting was making it impossible to do so. Instead she once more squeased his arm.

- No, she said. - It's what _you_ do. That's what makes you you. This amazing, one of a kind guy. Jess couldn't get a better uncle.

- Yeah, I'm swell, Luke replied, sarcastingly.

- I mean it, Lorelai stated.

- Thank you, Luke said genuinely.

- So he's really gone?

- Yup. His stuff's gone, so that's pretty much a given.

- And you don't think he's coming back?

- Nope. Even if he falls flat on his face, I'm probably the last person he'll want to turn to.

- And you have no idea where he might've gone?

- Oh, I know where he went, Luke replied. - Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. Jimmy comes to town, ignores my warning to stay away from him and the next day Jess takes off? Wouldn't surprise me if he's at the Milestone right about now.

- Who's Jimmy, Lorelai asked, confused.

- That's Jess' good-for-nothing dad, who left him and Liz when Jess was just a baby.

- What happened?

- He just took off! Said he was gonna go get diapers. Never returned. You can say he's the reason I have no respect for absent fathers.

Getting aggrivated, Luke got up and started pacing from side to side, while the rant continued.

- Damnit, you make a kid, you stick around! You don't just walk away and let the mom deal with the mess. Whenever I see one of those deadbeats all I see is Liz's face when she realized Jimmy wasn't coming back. And you know what makes me even more angry? When one of them decides after years and years to show up. No call, no letter, no nothing! Just shows up and thinks that's ok! He wasn't there during the diapers, he wasn't up at 3 am with the bottle, he wasn't there when the mom had to explain to the kid why his dad wasn't there, he wasn't there during the jam hands, the first day of school. Frankly, he's never been there, yet he dares to show up _now_? When all the hard work is done and the kid's ready to make his way in the world, or would if he wasn't too busy trying to disappoint everyone who's ever believed in him. Jimmy did nothing for Jess, he doesn't deserve to be called dad. Yet, _I'm_ the bad guy, for not telling Jess his dad finally decided to pay a little visit!

Luke sighed and leaned back towards the porch railing. Lorelai was grateful he wasn't looking in her direction, as she was sure at this point her face revealled everything anyone would need to know about her feelings for him. Closing her eyes, taking a moment to get her heart rate down to normal, she once more glanced at him.

- You ok, she asked.

- Yeah, I'll be okay, he sighed. - I'm more worried about Rory. I assume she doesn't know?

- She hasn't said anything, Lorelai shrugged.

- Do you want me to tell her?

- No, that's okay. Thanks. But I think I should be the one to do it. I just need to figure out when. She's got so many things on her mind right now.

- Don't wait too long, okay? She'll notice it eventually.

- Yeah, Lorelai replied. - She's a smart kid.

- You did well, he nodded.

- She came out that way, Lorelai shrugged. - I swear. I merely fed and clothed her.

- You did well, Luke repeated, putting empathis on each word.

- You did too, Luke. No matter the outcome, you did one hell of a job. For two years that kid had someone he could turn to, that he could rely on. Whether or not he did makes no difference.

- I guess, he muttered. - I've gotta...

- Yeah, Lorelai replied.

Luke started walking away, when he looked back over his shoulder.

- Don't wait too long to tell her, he reminded her.

- Does three years work for you?

- Goodbye crazy lady.

TBC


	22. Do not take her for granted

AN: I know you've been waiting for this chapter and believe me when I tell you that I _wanted_ to deliver it sooner, but this has to be the most difficult chapter I've written so far. Plus, I had an unfortunate incident where I had been writing for 4 hours, my computer turned itself off and I lost 4 hours work. I've heard this happen to other people, not the exact way they lost the stuff, but that they lost it, and most people give up. I didn't and luckily for me I also had great support in Steph, who really helped cheer me on and help me out when I was stuck, so thank you very, very much Steph. I mean it!

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - That's too bad about your relationship with your mom. I remember growing up believing that all people had this sort of family closeness. Yes, I was naive, but the more I hear, the more lucky I feel and who knows, maybe you can make that bond if both of you go in for it. And I thank you so, so much for the compliment.

**buckice** - LOL, I _knew_ someone was gonna pick up on that line. It was actually kinda random, cause I knew Luke should remind her to tell Rory soon and all of a sudden I had Rachel's voice in my head and I knew I just had to do it. I'm a bit sad you didn't catch the other half though, when Lorelai asked him if 3 years was good enough, which was the amount of time it took Luke to tell her :P I have the same bed policy as you. I write best when it's quiet around me or when at least I control the noise, that happens mostly at night. At winter I get the extra bonus that it's dark and I see the stars a lot and such. It's very little dark in summer. A couple of hours, tops. I too am a lot like Lorelai and I'm probably repeating myself when I say it, but it's true. I keep finding more and more simmilarities with her. A fic with Rory not having been born? I can't really imagine writing one of those, although I do want to one day maybe take on a LL teen story and do it right, you know. I'm so tired of these teen LL stories where everything is just so easy, the point with Lorelai having Rory at sixteen is that it wasn't easy, it was really hard, she had to work at the bottom of the ladder for minimum wage, live in a potting shed, but she managed to make a life out of it. Anyways, I'm not sure if I will do a story like that, if I do it'll be after I'm done with this one, cause if I multitask storywise I'll end up not finishing them.

* * *

Lorelai remained on the porch, watching Luke walk away. She knew he'd been lying. Luke wasn't one to dump his baggage on someone else, he held things close to the chest, always had, ever since she'd first started to get to know him, that was how he'd handled things. She'd known him long enough to not take any of it personally. It was something she knew Luke needed to do. He rarely let anything out, unless it was in the form of a rant. Not that Lorelai minded. Secretly she loved it when he ranted. She had a hard time remembering any of the firsts in her friendship with him, like the day they met, they day they became friends, how they had become friends. Thanks to an insane amount of tequila, she would never remember the first time they slept together... However, she did remember the first time she'd heard him rant. How could she not, when the man she'd come to think of as Mr Mono-Syllable himself suddenly started raving like a lunatic about, what else, Taylor's latest _'town improvement'_.

She couldn't say for sure how long ago it was. It was the one and only time Taylor tried installing a parking meter to prevent long-term parking around the town square. It had been lunch and Lorelai had been sitting up at the counter, her usual spot when she was without Rory. She couldn't remember if this was an event before or after the two of them had gotten a friendly terms or not. Possibly it was before, as she remembered calling him Duke that day, just to annoy him, one of her favourite past-times when she was bored and starved for entertainment, as she was that particular day. However Luke didn't get around to respond to it, as he at that point spotted Kirk on his first and to her memory _last_ day as the Stars Hollow Meter Maid, carefully attaching a parking ticket to the windshield of the truck.

Luke's reaction was forever burned into her memory, each expression, each profanity that escaped his lips before he ran out the door, each angry gesture he made at Kirk, who against all odds stayed seemingly cool, although Lorelai was dead certain she'd seen him shake like a leaf while doing it. Kirk's face on the other hand showed none of the fear the rest of his body did. There were times Lorelai wondered if Kirk's face was capable of showing emotion at all. Had she ever seen him laugh? Cry? In all these years she'd known him, she couldn't remember ever having seen him do either. However, Luke's face was clearly not lacking in the expression department. Not when he was yelling at Kirk before storming off in the direction of the market, not when he returned later on with Taylor following, who pointed out the newly installed parking meter down the block. Having gotten into a second round of arguing with Taylor, Luke was still aggrivated when he returned to the diner, the ticket still in his hand.

As the lunch entertainment had taken her mind completely off her hunger, Lorelai was still only halfway through her Burger, which had gone cold. After asking Luke if he could reheat it for her and receiving one of the most annoyed expression she'd seen in her lifetime, and she'd seen many, she asked him if he was okay. At first his answer seemed to be calm and non-chalant, maybe because he'd reminded himself that he was was talking to a customer and not Taylor or Kirk, maybe because he'd noticed the genuine concern in her voice when she'd asked. Whatever it was, it didn't last long and then it happened. Lorelai couldn't remember what she'd thought about him up to this point, she knew she'd viewed him as a source for good entertainment, but everything else was erased at that moment, as she listened to him passionately spout on and on about how this was a violation of his rights as a landowner, how Taylor had been out to get him for years, how if they didn't do something soon Stars Hollow would become Taylorville. Lorelai was flabbergasted as she saw her coffee providor in a whole new light.

At the town meeting the next day, she'd gotten up and spoken on Luke's behalf and with her gift of speech as well as her being well liked by the fellow towns people, she'd successfully gotten the town to counter Taylor's sneak attempt to ban Luke from parking his truck in front of the Diner, which had been Taylor's agenda all along. When she thought about it, the next meal at Luke's had been on the house. Lorelai smiled at the memory as she realized, she did after all remember what it was that forever changed the way she and Luke interracted. The event that took them one step away from being customer and provider and one step towards becoming the friends they were now.

Since that day, his rants had been numerous and although she'd enjoyed each and every one of them, there were only a couple that really stuck. And if she was to hand out scores, there would be no doubt about it that the one she had heard tonight was the one with the biggest impact. The hurt in Luke's voice, how he felt that he'd been cast aside for a man who had done nothing short of stepping on everyone and everything that Luke held dear. The way his voice, when he spoke about Liz kind of reflected her pain as well. She knew Luke's view on family loyalties was more than mere obligations, unlike the Gilmore loyalties that she was familliar with. At times it was really hard to understand it as she was without siblings and her relationship with her parents was crappy at best. Tonight, however, she'd seen it, she'd felt it and she'd realized that she actually did understand.

Her relationship with her parents was in her mind beyond salvage, despite the slight improvement in their communication from the three years of obligational dinners. She felt that she never truly could let her guard down with them, as she always anticipated the worst. And when they rarely failed to disappoint, it was no real wonder that the only improvement could be made in baby steps. But by moving her focus from her parents and over to Rory, Luke's words started to make sense. It was in one way weird that whenever there was talk of family obligations, that she immediately thought of her old life back at the Gilmore mansion, when she and Rory were just as much a family together if not more than she, Emily and Richard ever had been. But then again _'obligation'_ had always been a more pressing word than _'family'_ in that household and in a way she'd always associated one with the other, assuring there to always be a negative vibe when either was spoken. Also, with Rory, nothing had ever felt like an obligation. Sure, life had been far from a piece of cake. It had been downright hard at times, but still everything was so natural when it came down to her and her kid.

But then again, just because you were happy to do it, didn't change the fact that it still was an obligation. Obligations weren't just the things you had to, but secretly didn't want to do. Just because you were happy to put food on the table for your kid, didn't make the fact that the kid needed it any less true. And it was with that, she finally understood where Luke came from. Because there was nothing she wouldn't do for Rory. No matter where they were in life, by the off chance they weren't speaking, although she couldn't imagine the scenario ever happening, it still wouldn't change the fact that she'd drop everything at the top of the hat should Rory need her to.

It wasn't until she felt the chill from sitting on the cold steps of the front porch stairs, that Lorelai realized she'd probably been sitting there for a good half an hour or so, a third of which had been after Luke had left. Getting up, she brushed the sandparticles off her skirt and turned around, almost jumping out of her skin as she spotted Rory, leaning back towards the door frame, arms crossed, watching her.

- Geez, kid, Lorelai exclaimed. - Trying to give me a heart attack?

- Sorry, Rory apologised. - You seemed kinda out of it, so I thought I'd wait until you were safely back on earth.

- Good thinking, Lorelai replied.

- So, Luke stopped by, Rory stated, as she pushed herself up to a standing position. - Anything you wanna tell me?

- What, Lorelai asked, confused on how much Rory actually had heard, she was unbelievably calm, too calm to know everything that was going on.

- What did Luke want, Rory elaborated.

- Oh, Lorelai replied. - Um...

Luke's advice to not take too long to tell Rory hadn't been lost on her and she knew the sooner she did, the less the damage would be, but staring into those blue and still very innocent eyes her kid posessed, Lorelai just couldn't. And she knew it was stupid and most likely would be fruitless, but knowing where he was, even if it was just a hunch and not doing anything, she just knew that one day, she'd be looking back at this moment and ask herself if she'd made the right choice. Doing what you could to make your kid happy, that was what love was all about, right? She never liked Jess. She liked to think she'd given him a fair chance, but maybe she never had. Maybe she'd let that one crappy first impression set the tone for how she'd always view him. Was it possible she'd only seen the bad in him, because that was how she wanted to see him? Luke and Rory had both claimed there was some good in Jess, if only people bothered to look hard enough and Lorelai knew each of them to be great judges of character...

- Mom.., Rory said, interrupting her trail of thoughts.

- Um.., Lorelai replied. - I have to uh... run an errand.

- It's ten o'clock at night, Rory pointed out. - What is it you don't want me to know?

- Nothing, Lorelai lied, making her way to the car. - I just have something to do. I'll be back in a while.

- I'll be waiting.., Rory said with a pointed look.

The drive itself was short, it was like one minute she'd been getting into her car at her house and the next she was parking outside the motel entrance. The place itself was surprisingly decent. It wasn't stunning, but it was far from one of those horror story motels that the media and movie business loved showing the public. There was no middle-aged, semi-bald and creepy looking little man behind the counter. She was met with a woman that looked to be pushing fourty at the most, but if Lorelai was to guess, she was probably closer to thirty than fourty.

- Can I help you, she asked, politely.

- Yeah, I was hoping you could point out which room Jimmy Mariano's staying in.

- I'm sorry, the woman replied. - I can't tell you that...

- Customer policy, Lorelai interrupted. - I get that. I run an Inn and if someone walked in and all of a sudden wanted information about one of the guests, I would say no, too. But I'm looking for this kid, Jess. Kinda short, dark hair with way too much product in it, walks around acting like the world owes him something. He ran away from home and this guy, Jimmy is probably the only one who can tell me where he went. So if you could waive the policy just this once and help me find this kid, I'd really appreciate it.

- What I meant, the woman replied. - Is that I can't tell you which room he's staying in, because he checked out a couple of hours ago.

- Oh, Lorelai said. - Did you see anyone leave with him?

- No, but someone matching your description came in about an hour or two later, asking for him. I don't know where he went though. Sorry.

- Nothing you can do about that, Lorelai shrugged.

- Don't worry, the woman assured her. - I'm sure you'll find your son eventually.

- Oh, he's not mine, Lorelai explained. - He's dating my kid. I'd explain, but it would just take too long and I'm kinda in a hurry, so...

Leaving the slightly confused woman behind her, Lorelai made her way out the door. Sighing, she wondered slightly about what she had hoped to accomplish. Even if she had found him, there was no guarantee that she'd talk some sense into him, no matter how much Luke seemed to believe she could talk anyone into anything. At least by finding him, she could at least have left with the satisfaction of having given him a proper scolding for treating her daughter like crap these past few months. It would have been liberating, just say everything she wanted to say and not feel bad about not giving him a chance.

Lorelai had almost reached the car, when she spotted the silhuette of a person sitting on the bench by the bus stop. With there being no night buses passing this street, she found it a bit odd to see someone sitting there as if they were waiting for one. She crossed the parking lot in direction of the bench. She didn't recognize him until she'd actually made her way around the bench to the front. His nose was as usual in a book and he didn't even bother to look up. Lorelai wondered for a second if he'd even registerred that someone was there.

- The bus don't leave until morning, he informed her, his eyes not straying from the book for even a second.

- Was just gonna tell you the same thing, Lorelai responded.

With that Jess' eyes met hers for a moment, until they returned once more to the book.

- What can I say, he shrugged. - I'm a sucker for punctuality.

- Is that all you're gonna say, Lorelai asked in disbelief.

- I figured you had enough to say for the both of us, he replied, calmly. - So why don't you save us some time and do what you came here to do?

- I came here to tell you, that I think you're scum, Lorelai said, crossing her arms.

- What else is new?

- You act like you're the only one with problems, that no one could possibly understand what it's like to be in your shoes. I told you, when you came here that if you just gave it a little effort, you could get it really good here. Instead you decided to step all over it, every opportunity you got, so shocker, people don't like you much. Yeah, you're a real martyr.

- Aren't we the pot calling the kettle black, Jess spat back. - I saw the mansion, princess. Servants waiting on you hand and foot. Yeah, that sounds really tough, you're lucky you escaped with your life.

- Don't even try to think you know anything about my life.

- Funny, I was about to say the same thing.

- So, enlighten me, Lorelai suggested. - Tell me whatever it is I don't get.

- No thanks.

- Then maybe I should talk. You never knew your dad, maybe your mom held onto one guy long enough for you to bond with him before he took off or maybe you just never had a male role model alltogether. You have no one to turn to. Dad's missing in action. Mom doesn't want to deal with what's in front of her. You see your uncle only when your mom calls him for help. So you decide you're not gonna rely on anyone but yourself. How am I doing so far?

Jess didn't answer.

- You get into some trouble, Lorelai continued. - Your mom freaks out and ships you off to Luke, who, by the way only had 24 hours to prepare and could've said no, only he doesn't. Instead he offers you a second chance, but you don't want it. So you steal a gnome, swipe some cash, stage a fake murder in front of Taylor's store; very funny prank by the way. You don't want to be here and you want everyone to know. So you leave, you come back. You get a job, win the girl. Things are looking up, but then you screw up. You fall behind in school and instead of telling anyone, you keep it for yourself, so now you're not graduating. If things aren't enough messed up already, throw your dad suddenly showing up into the mix...

- At least he came, Jess snapped.

- But did you ever stop and wonder why?

- He wanted to see me, why is it so hard for people to get that?

- I do get it, but why now, after seventeen years?

- Man! You, Luke, the whole town, Jess exploded. - You're all the same. A guy can never change for you. Once he screws up, that's it. There's no second chance.

- Just give me a couple of seconds to get my head around this. Who's this guy you're talking about, cause I can't think of anyone who's gotten more 'out of jail' cards than you.

- Oh please, Jess replied. - You've been on my case since day one.

- Day two, Lorelai corrected.

- Whatever, Jess replied, dismissingly, then silently added. - And I wasn't talking about me.

- Your dad's been gone all your life. Now, out of the blue, he shows up. You go to see him and he's already gone. And now, what, you're just gonna leave everything behind to go find him?

- That's the plan.

- Do you even know which state he's in, last I checked this was a pretty big country.

- I know where he is.

- And when did you plan on telling Rory about this trip of yours? Were you even gonna tell her?

- I was gonna call her.

- When? Before or after she heard it from someone else? And what were you gonna tell her? 'I'm sorry, I can't take you to prom, 'cause I decided I'd go find my dad, who's never been there for me, instead'?

- You think I want this, Jess exclaimed. - I was gonna stand in line to get the prom tickets, I was gonna rent a tux, split a limo with Dave and Lane. Then I get sent to the principal, who tells me I'm not graduating. They won't let me catch up, Summer school won't do it. I'm out. It's either take the year over or leave it.

- And you're just gonna give up. Just like that?

- I'm not going back there. No way.

- Why? Because you're embarrassed that you'll be a year older than your classmates at the graduation ceremony next year?

- Because there's no point in going back there. Everyone there, the teachers, the students, they're all just waiting for me to fail.

- I thought you didn't care what people thought about you.

- I don't, Jess replied, as he shifted uncomfortably.

- Then what's the problem, Lorelai wanted to know.

- My problem is I don't want people like _you_ dictating what I do or don't do with my life!

- And what's the master plan, Lorelai asked. - Just take off and leave your mess for someone else to clean up?

- What do you want from me, Jess exclaimed. - You came, you yelled. I'm having some trouble trying to figure out what else you're doing here. I thought you, of all people would be glad to see me gone.

- If you think I'm even close to done yelling, then you're a bigger idiot that I thought, Lorelai countered. - And I came here for Rory.

- Yeah right, because you were always such a fan of me and her.

- Of course I wasn't, Lorelai replied. - But that's beside the point. You won and I just had to find a way to deal with it.

- Yeah, you really gave me a chance, Jess said, sarcastically. - I was steps away from getting myself a Doose Market Apron and bagging groceries.

- Do you honestly think if Dean had treated Rory the way you did, I'd just step back and watch him do it?

- Oh, come on, you know you loved him from the start. The perfect son-in-law.

- If Dean had even done half the things you've done, he'd be in for a castration and it seems to me like everyone knows it, except you, Lorelai exclaimed. - I didn't love him from the start, that took a long while to develope. When he first kissed Rory, I wanted to strangle him. When Rory one time didn't come home from a dance until morning, it didn't matter how much she assured me that it was completely innocent, he couldn't come close to the house for two weeks, out of fear for his life. I can't even imagine what I'd done if _he_ had been the one snapping at my kid for not sleeping with him, but I can tell you this much, it wouldn't be this cozy little chat we're having here.

- Geez, is that what she thinks?

- No, that's what I think. Rory doesn't know what to believe right now.

- I didn't do anything. I didn't even wanna be at that party, but she wanted to stay, so we stayed. She found me in that room, she kissed _me_. Did we end up on the bed? Yes. Did my hands wander? I'm a guy, sue me. The minute she said no, we stopped. I didn't try anything with her, I didn't invite her up to sleep with her and I told her that. She got upset and ran out, I ran after to apologize to her, that's when Dean sucker punched me and you know the rest from there...

- Yeah, you defended yourself quite a bit, Lorelai remarked.

- Not you too, he groaned. - Look, I don't expect you to believe me, but I'm telling the truth. I like Rory, I wouldn't do that to her.

- Do you, Lorelai challenged. - 'Cause looking back at the last couple of months on the way you've been treating her, I can't help but wonder. I mean, here you do everything just to win her over, you go to town events, you challenge Dean every chance you get. I've seen stubborn guys before, but you take the prize. Then you do win her over and all of a sudden you're not that dedicated anymore. You stand her up, you don't call, she doesn't know what's going on with you, because you won't tell her anything.

- I'm not a by-the-watch kinda guy.

- That excuse is getting a little worn, Lorelai remarked. - And here we have Rory, wondering what on earth changed. Hell, even _I'm_ wondering what changed. Did you even like her at all, or was this all just the thrill of the chase and now that you've caught her you're not that interessted anymore?

- I _do_ like her.

- Then why are you ditching her like this?

- Look, I have no choice. Luke kicked me out, not a single other person in Stars Hollow would let me crash, including you. Mom's probably out looking for husband number five as we speak, so no point in going there. My dad might be a loser, but at least he's a loser with a bed.

- And then what, Lorelai asked. - Do you expect Rory to just wait around for you? 'Cause she probably won't. If you take off and leave it so someone else to tell her why, then you're gonna lose her.

- I know, Jess replied, quietly. - Isn't that what you want? It's not like I'm good for her. All I do is screw up everything.

- And I'm not exactly rushing to disagree, Lorelai told him. - But it's not about what I want.

Taking a deep breath, Lorelai took a look at Jess and perhaps for the first time she saw something besides the troublemaker she'd known for the past two years. She saw the troubled boy behind it.

- Your dad walked out on you and your mom when you were just a baby. He's had seventeen years worth of time to come up with an explanation as of why and he still can't give you one, she stated. - Is that who you wanna be?

Jess didn't answer, in fact at this point he wasn't even looking at her.

- If you want to be with Rory, don't leave without telling her why. Don't take her for granted. She might be the most understanding kid in the world, and no, I'm not exaggerating, but even she has her limits and you're threading very close to one of them. And if you don't, then have the guts to tell her yourself and don't leave it for her to figure out.

And with that, Lorelai turned around and made her way to the car.

TBC


	23. This calls for drastic measures

AN: Wow, now this time it wasn't writers block, it was work block... lol, suddenly everyone wants to give me assignments. First the project, then three websites that needed designing and now my teacher is planning on maybe hiring me as a designer at his firm and I have to set up a portfolio that he can use to promote my work. Wow, I'm overwhelmed. That's all I've got to say. Luckily, this chapter was an easier one to write, so it went more quickly, allowing me to do the other work as well :)

**buckice** - Well I used to multitask before, I started many projects at once and I wrote a whole lot, this was back when I wrote only Buffy fanfiction and in the beginning it worked really well, I wrote a lot and I always had things to update, but then it just became too much and I ended up starting more things than I could finish, a lot of my fiction back then remains unfinished to this day. Don't get me wrong, I completed a lot, but not all. And it still bugs me that I never finished some of it, but I'm such a different writer than I was back then, so I know I'll never finish that. So when I started writing other fandoms I promised myself that once I started a project I would focus on that and not get sidetracked. And that's a promise I intend to keep for as long as possible. Okay, so I have a couple of unfinished projects started up now as well, but a lot less than what I used to have. So I can live with what I have unfinished right now. And about your question, I used to hate dialogue actually. I never managed to get it right, to get it to feel natural, it was so much easier for me to just write narration instead. However with GG I find it much easier to write dialogue. Hmm... the way we change. I find it a lot harder to write narration now when I've gotten used to dialogue, so it can take longer, it depends on what I find more natural with that particular character. Some are easier to learn the speech pattern, others are easier to narrate the inner thoughts. I'm glad you liked the first rant thing and the Lorelai Jess interaction, but I'm sorry you feel that those two parts weren't connected. And maybe you're right, maybe I should've had Lorelai talk more on Luke's behalf as well, but once those characters starts talking in my head, then things go one way, I don't always get to say everything I want to say because it wouldn't be natural to go certain directions all of a sudden. There was some mention of Luke, maybe not enough. But it's like you say, she's a mother first and foremost and it was Rory's presence that made her make the decision to go and have a heart to heart with Jess. It doesn't mean she disregards what Jess did to Luke, but in the heat of the moment, what he did to Rory was the pressing matter.

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - It's good you at least have a good relationship with your step mom. And wow, about the losing of the fics, been there, done that, as you know and it SUCKS! Hope you too managed to recreate it. I'm glad you like my Jess. I know what you mean on him being hard to write. I thought so too when I was writing, but I just knew I had to get it done.

**flcrkr** (or Steph as I know you as) - Thank you so much for proofreading my stuff, I'm glad you still like to read and review even though you've already seen the chapters... lol Statue's coming up. It's gonna be tall and shiny, cause you deserve it, babe!

**smileyGGfan** - Hey, you're back :) Yeah, you had me wondering a bit if you maybe had abandoned the story, I'm glad you haven't. Not so pleased to hear that the school is giving you Summer homework. What kinda school does that? Seriously, Summer's there to have a break, have some fun, go on holidays, not to do schoolwork. Also I hope you didn't skip chapter 20 and go right to 21, cause since I didn't see a review for that chapter (and you review every single one of them) I'm assuming you haven't read it... lol Yup, you caught the parallell between Luke's dislike for Jimmy and his dislike for Chris. I always believed Jimmy was part of what made Luke dislike Chris, that and the whole "competition" thing. But for me the Jimmy thing was part of it. lol, I find it funny how you review like only an hour before I post the next chapter and until I read your next review I won't be completely sure you were only 2 chapters behind. I'm still saying you were 3. I know what you mean about the massive narration in the beginning, but I didn't think it would be that good to have Lorelai talking to herself, plus I don't really want to do a full flashback with dialogue. It just didn't feel right for the chapter. Pausing as the review for chapter 20 comes in... of course I keep track of you ;) Now where was I... Right, there. I'm glad you liked Lorelai seeking Jess out. I felt that if she'd been given a chance, that would be something she'd do. Of course they were writing Jess out of the show, so they didn't, but if not, then I could imagine her giving him a piece of her mind, give him some perspective. Whatever happens with the Jess thing, I guess you'll just have to read and find out. Last chapter was the last one with main focus on him, since this is an JJ story not a Lit story... lol I will let you know what happens, but it'll mostly be told in sidenotes at least until there is a major storyline involving him, which I can't say for sure if there is or not. And that's not me refusing to tell, that's me not knowing if the answer is yes or no, myself. There's a lot of story and the JJ stuff is what I know most of, the sidelines however they are open wide. Now how's that for a paragraph?

* * *

Lorelai hadn't been this nervous since she had to pee on a stick around this time nineteen years ago. If someone had asked her anything about what she thought or did when she saw the result, she would be able to answer down to the very last detail, but she found it a little funny that she couldn't remember what she did in between taking the test and seeing the pink strip that changed her life forever. It was like that time between didn't exist. Or it had been erased the moment she saw the result, when the gravity of the situation hit her. Had she just been sitting there? Lorelai couldn't imagine herself just sitting on the bed watching the timer count down. Had there been a timer even? Back then she hadn't been the type to just curl up on the bed and cry, either.

She wasn't sure when it was she had stopped crying as a child. It had probably been about the same time other children stopped crying loudly. Maybe even before. As a Gilmore she was trained to suck it up, not to cause a scene. Sure, when she grew older more and more she stopped caring about causing a scene. She learned to channel everything through anger and by the time she reached her teens, she had hardened as a person. Every remark coming her way was repayed with a vindictive smile. Humor, especially sarcasm had become her new best friend. Aiding her in cloaking her inner emotions.

She remembered how Mia had described her first impression of her to Rory. In the beginning, despite Mia's natural compassion, Lorelai hadn't let the woman get too close. She'd been grateful for the job and the place to stay, and she'd worked her butt off to show her that gratitude. But having never had anyone in her life to rely on with her dad always working, her mom's main concern being their appearance and the household staff changing every two weeks, she'd been determined to manage on her own. And Mia had been patient, she'd let Lorelai know that no matter what, her door would always be open.

It wasn't until Rory was almost two and had an unusually high fever one evening, that Lorelai finally used it. Mia was still in her office, fitting some last minute requests for one of the functions into her busy schedule, but the minute Lorelai had entered, with a crying Rory in her arms, she'd put the work down. Being a mother herself, Mia could relate to Lorelai's panicking, although very high fevers wasn't that uncommon amongst babies and toddlers. Nonetheless, she went to the doctor with her and after having him confirm her suspicion that it was nothing serious and that the fever would decrease, Mia had helped Lorelai put Rory down for bed and stayed with her after Rory had fallen asleep. That night was the first time Lorelai had cried as an adult. And for the first time for as long as she could remember, no one told her to wipe her tears and suck it up. Mia had instead pulled her into a comforting hug, stroking her back up and down, while she cried, like a real mother would.

It hadn't been a magic moment that had just suddenly let her guard down, but it had started the snowball. Mia was patient, let Lorelai set her own pace in opening up. It wasn't as though she before that hadn't told Mia anything. Mia knew pretty much about her family situation to start with and had even encouraged her to call her parents to let them know she was safe. But despite getting the family details, she had detected that there was a lot more under the surface that Lorelai refused to share. However as Lorelai learned more and more that she could in fact rely on Mia, she started opening up. And Mia soon became a substitute mother for her, someone to share the good and the bad with. Someone to encourage her to do more with her life.

When Rory enrolled in school and slowly, but surely became more independant, Mia talked Lorelai into entering a night class to get her high school diploma. To compensate for the time she lost with Rory, Mia rearranged her work schedual, freeing her more up in the afternoons, abling her to pick her daughter up from school and spending some time with her before either returning to work in the evening while Rory did her homework or heading for the Adult Learning Center for class. It took her a while to do it, but the moment she held the diploma in her hand, she felt the greatest sense of accomplishment, outside Rory being born of course.

Mia had also been the one encouraging her to enter management training, first to take up post as day manager and eventually take over the executive manager position when Mia retired. At first Mia had checked in once a week to make sure Lorelai was allright, not that she was indicating that she believed she couldn't do it, Lorelai knew Mia believed in her. Then Mia made the decision to move to California to be closer to her children, not without promising to return every once in a while to check up on her girls, as she had come to call Lorelai and Rory. The first year she came every other month for a surprise inspection, as time passed the visits decreased. The last one now was over a year ago.

Every visit, every call had always been a source of joy. However the call she was waiting for now, was one she dreaded. Mia hadn't come herself to make the last inspection, according to her because she didn't like the hassle of dealing with people in suits, but Lorelai knew better. Even though Mia had moved away, the Independance Inn was still her place, no matter how much she claimed it was more Lorelai's now and Lorelai know how much it hurt her to see the Inn the way it was now, most the rooms closed down from the fire, the staff reduced to a mere minimum. It was no longer the place Lorelai had proudly run for the last five years, worked at for twelve years before that and that itself was bad enough, but to hear her worst fear pretty much being voiced by John was even worse. Sure, he said it wasn't confirmed yet, that it was up to his mom to make the final decision, but she didn't see it as much of a comfort.

So here she was, pacing the floor in her livingroom, trying to keep occupied, not unlike what she imagined herself to have been doing around the same time nineteen years ago, trying not to think about the impending fate of the place she'd considered her home for so very long. She'd started by picking up all the stray clothes and magazines. Finishing that, she'd dusted off every shelf in the room, then she'd moved on to the kitchen. Not wanting to have the phone out of earshot, she decided against vacuming, as well as taking on her own room. She was in the middle of reorganizing her cd collection, a project she had wanted to get done for the longest time, when the phone finally rang.

- Hello, she answered the phone.

- _Lorelai_, Mia's warm and loving voice said.

- Mia, hi, Lorelai replied, forgetting the uneasy feeling in her stomach from a minute ago.

That was a talent Mia always had, no matter what was going on, Mia's voice or simply her presence in a room was enough to calm someone down.

- I haven't seen you for so long, Lorelai continued. - How's Santa Barbara?

- _Would you believe it if I said it's even warmer here than usual_, Mia asked.

- Well, that's California for you, Lorelai quipped. - You really should move back here, you know. Get some real weather.

- _Don't think I'm not tempted_, Mia laughed. - _But I think I'd miss my kids and grandkids more than I miss the weather._

- I can relate to that, Lorelai replied, nodding. - Rory spent last Summer in Washington and I didn't know what to do with myself. I have no idea how I'm gonna survive her moving out for college. A big part of me just wants to move out to New Haven with her.

- _New Haven? I always thought you and Rory had your eyes set on Harvard_, Mia stated, surprised.

- Oh, we did, Lorelai confirmed. - We took a roadtrip there and walked the campus. Rory even managed to sneak into a class when we were there and she really belonged. You should've seen her.

- _I don't have to. I always knew that girl could do anything she set her mind to, just like her mother._

- I'm not so sure how far I'd gotten without you.

- _Nonesense_, Mia objected. - _If I hadn't been there you would've figured it out on your own sooner or later. And don't think I didn't benefit from it all. You were the best thing that happened to the Inn and that's something I stand for._

- Speaking of which, what's gonna happen now, Lorelai asked. - I'm freaking out, John kept talking about selling the Inn.

- _I'm really sorry, Lorelai_, Mia replied, sincerely.

- What? Mia, no.

- _I wish I could wait until you and Sookie finalized your plans for your own place, but with all the repairs, I simply can't afford it and if I want to walk away with anything at all, I have to sell._

- Yeah, Lorelai sighed. - I get that. I'm sorry by the way.

- _What on earth have you got to be sorry for_, Mia queried.

- The fire, everything, I feel like it's my fault, Lorelai explained. - I was so distracted, maybe I overlooked something. Or maybe I pulled one too many cracks about Serenidipidy that it pissed her off and this is her revenge.

- _Fires happen_, Mia replied, confidently. - _There's nothing you or I can do about that. I'm proud of you for keeping the place running for as long as you did. It pains me to have to let you go. It's not that I don't have confidense that you'll find something else, but I know how much the Independence means to you._

- It's where Rory grew up, Lorelai said, silently. - Where I grew up...

- _I know_, Mia replied, sincerely. - _I had a hard time leaving it behind when I did, but back then it was time for me, just as it's time for you now, to move on. Rory's starting a new chapter of her life, it's time you did, as well. Take the leap, go for it. Let me know if I can help in any way, but more important, invite me to the grand opening. Because I want to see you do it._

- You'll get the best room in the house, Lorelai promised. - On the house. I don't know what I'd do without you.

- _That's still up for negotiation_, Mia joked.

There was a silence between them.

- So this is it, huh, Lorelai asked.

- _I'm afraid so_, Mia replied. - _John will be in touch with you about the details on the sale, the severance checks and everything else. I'd do it, but I don't have the heart to see the Inn in this state. I'd rather remember the good times._

- Don't be a stranger, Mia, Lorelai pleaded.

- _Wouldn't dream of it_, Mia promised. - _Good luck, Lorelai._

- Thank you.

Lorelai sank into a chair as she hung up, the uneasy feeling in her gut returning. It was over. It was still hard to grasp that after all this time, after having _lived_ there for over a decade, that it would soon be gone. The building might still be there, but it wouldn't be the same.

She heard the door slam open.

- Mom, Rory called out, popping her head into the living room. - Mom, you okay?

Lorelai nodded and wiped away the tears. _Where did they come from?_

- Mom, Rory asked, concerned.

- I could use a hug, Lorelai admitted.

Not needing to be told twice, Rory enveloped her mother in a comforting hug. When she tried letting go, Lorelai just hugged her tighter.

- Not yet, she demanded.

- Ok, still hugging, Rory replied.

Finally Lorelai let her daughter go.

- So, Rory asked.

- There's no easy way for me to tell you this, Lorelai sighed. - Mia's selling the Inn.

- What? Why?

- We have to shut down three more rooms, that leaves us with two and the cost of the repairs and loss of business, she can't afford keeping it anymore. To make a long story short, the minute we're back from Europe I have to go job hunting.

- You mean, we're still going?

- Sweetie, we've talked about this trip for years. Nothing short of me being hospitalized is gonna stop me from going with you.

- I meant, can we still afford it? Your money should go towards buying and fixing up the Dragonfly, especially now when you have no job to go back to.

Lorelai sighed.

- You are still buying the Inn, right, Rory asked, eyeing her mother carefully. - Tell me you're still buying it.

- I can't, Lorelai admitted.

- Why, Rory demanded. - We have enough left of Grandpa's money to cover it. Is it loosing your job? You'll find a new one, in the meantime we'll just scrimp on everything. I'll help you, I'm a master scrimper.

- No, I mean yes, the loosing my job is a set back, but that's not why I'm not buying it, Lorelai sighed. - We didn't get the financial aid for Yale.

- You're kidding, Rory exclaimed. - We looked through all their requirements and we fit in perfectly. What happened?

- Ironicly the money I got from your grandpa took us out of the running, since it made it look like we actually had money, which we don't.

- Then we'll send them proof, Rory said, determinedly.

- Honey, I swear to you I tried everything short of offering them a lap dance, Lorelai assured her. - On second thought, I think I did that, too.

- Mom, Rory scoffed.

- Well..., Lorelai shrugged.

- Why didn't you tell me?

- I thought with everything you had going on, finals, dealing with Paris' meltdown on national television, not to mention the whole Jess thing, I didn't want you worrying about this as well, Lorelai explained. - How are things with Jess? Is he still in the dog house?

- Yup, Rory confirmed.

- Good girl, Lorelai grinned.

- He called though, Rory said. - He's staying there for the Summer. He said since I'm going to Europe anyway, he could use the time getting to know his dad, maybe get a Summer job, figure some stuff out.

- Well that's good, Lorelai acknowledged. - Are they getting along?

- He says they get each other, but he's not elaborating on what he means by it.

- And men call _us_ complicated, Lorelai joked.

- And you're completely changing the subject, Rory accused.

- What? I'm showing an interesst in your life.

- You're asking about Jess without accusing him of anything.

- Isn't it possible that I've changed my mind about him after having a heart to heart with the guy?

- You do not expect me to believe that. You didn't even accept Dean that easily.

- Fine, but I just don't see what more there is to say. Your grandpa's money took us out of the running for financial aid, so now that money's gonna be paying for Yale.

- Mom, no, Rory replied, determinedly. - I can't let you give up on your dream like that. I'll get a student loan. Lots of other students do that. It's perfectly doable.

- No, I don't want you buried with loans when you graduate.

- But it's not fair to you, you've been dreaming of this for too long to let it slip like this. There has to be an other way, Rory said, pacing back and forward on the floor.

- I've looked everywhere, but there's nothing.

She grabbed Rory's arm, making her stop pacing.

- Look, Lorelai said, looking her daughter in the eyes. - I'm getting my own Inn one day, it may not be the Dragonfly, but Sookie and I'll find some other place. Somehow I'm getting it, it's just taking a little longer than what we hoped for. I'm not changing my mind about this. Your education comes first. I know what it's like to never get to go to college, so I'm making sure you can.

- Great, Rory stated. - Now I'm depressed.

- Join the club, Lorelai quipped.

- I don't think any of our ordinary movie nights is gonna do the trick. I think it's time to bring out the big guns.

- You mean.., Lorelai asked, her eyes lightening up.

Rory nodded and went to her room, retrieving the box. Lorelai clapped her hands excitedly like a four year old as she saw it.

- The whole thing, she asked. - Seriously?

- We'll make a night of it, Rory replied.

- You're planning on hiding it again afterwards, aren't you?

- Yup, Rory confirmed.

- Shoot.

TBC


	24. Listen very carefully

AN: Before I say anything else, thank you EngineAngel for betaing the first part of this chapter and thank you, Steph for betaing, the rest. Now, for everyone here who've missed Luke these past two chapters, well here's a Luke POV chapter for ya. Enjoy!

**Babs25** & **ravenb** - I really agree with you both on Mia. I don't understand why she wasn't brought back. Maybe DR decides to bring her back, I'd love it if he did. Even though the Independance Inn is no more, I always felt that her bond with Lorelai was more than her just being the boss and it just doesn't make sense that she doesn't even check in with her. I think she'd love to see the interaction between Lorelai and _Lucas_...

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - I can only imagine really, most of the times when I've left something behind, a job, school, it's not been that big of a deal. I think the hardest thing for me was quitting paint classes that my neighbour taught. On my last day she gave a long, touching speech on how I'd be missed and I couldn't keep my eyes dry, no matter how much I tried. And that was just something that had been with me for two years, I can't imagine what it must me like to leave behind 17 years of your life. As for what they're watching, well, read and find out.

**flcrkr** - I hope to be able to bring her back. I love Mia. I can't guarantee anything though, but I hope I can have her there, cause I really do feel she belongs there.

**smileyGGfan** - LOL, if I'd known what I wanted to do with Jess, I'd simply say "that's for me to know and you to find out", I honestly haven't decided much on his fate, I have to wait and see as the story progresses. As for the opening paragraphs, I don't think they'll be much of a regular thing. Sometimes there's a lot to be said narration-wise, other times there's not that much need. Yes, Lorelai did handle it with maturity, but how else could she handle it when it came to Mia? She knows Mia cares tremediously about her and that Mia really does wish there was something else she could do. Also, she was kinda prepared for it, with what Mia's son had told her at the Inn. As for the money issue, I found it weird that we never had any questions about it in the show when they were talking about having to scrimp to make due, so I thought I'd mention that as well. Thank you very much for the Essay, I loved it and I hope there are more in the future ;)

* * *

Luke hadn't taken any time to _really_ think about how the whole Jess taking off thing was affecting him. He wasn't much of a thinker that way. He was more a doer. After having stood in Jess' half of the appartment for ten minutes, not really doing or thinking anything, just taking in the sight of the empty space in front of him, he'd gone back down to the diner and closed up early. Having tossed Kirk out, always fun to do, he'd returned upstairs with a hint of a smile on his face, then once more he was met with the sight of the empty half. So he sprung into action. Knowing the kid the way he did, he knew that no matter what went on in Jess' life, his mother would always remain clueless, so the first thing he did was calling Liz. She didn't sound too worried, which was Liz in a nut shell.

He couldn't remember a time in his life where he hadn't been bailing out his little sister. Ever since they were kids, he'd played his role as older brother to the fullest. Knowing in the back of his mind that he'd always be there for her, he'd assumed the time would come when she'd less and less depend on him. And regardless what he thought about Jimmy, he'd really believed that when she decided to marry him and move to New York that it had been her taking the leap out from the safety net that was her older brother. It lasted almost a year before he was proven wrong. The minute Jimmy was out of the house, Liz had returned to her old childhood habits. Since then, whenever something became too difficult for her to handle, she'd left it for him to deal with and that had been that. There was no doubt about it, Liz was and would always remain Liz.

He'd picked the phone up once again, not really sure who he intended to call or why. He wanted to believe he'd meant to call Nicole. After all she'd been nothing but supportive of his whole situation ever since they had begun dating. She hadn't been reluctant to discuss the issue with him, in fact she'd been encouraging it. Surprisingly enough though he found himself dialling Lorelai's number, despite her very anti-Jess attitude. He told himself it was because of Rory he did it. When that excuse didn't hold up, he convinced himself it was because he needed input from an actual parent, someone who had in one way or another been there. That was why Lorelai's number was the only one he could remember at that exact moment.

By the time he had realized Lorelai wasn't home, any thought of calling Nicole had vanished from his mind and he'd simply grabbed his jacked, heading over to Lorelai's house to wait for her...

Now, a week later, he still couldn't give a good answer as of why he'd gone to _her_ about the Jess situation, knowing well enough her opinions on his nephew and the situation. With Summer rapidly approaching, Jess no longer needing his constant monitoring and his reluctance to ponder the situation any further, he'd two days earlier found himself agreeing to Nicole's suggestion that the two of them could take a couple of weeks off and go somewhere together. It was the perfect distraction.

His nose was buried in a travel brochure when he recognized the familliar sound of the bell above the diner ringing. _Geez, the frickin' bell_ does _sound differently when it's her._

- _Good moaning_, Lorelai announced in a fake Brittish accent.

Even though he knew very well Lorelai was slightly near-sighted, not significantly so, but enough to have subscription glasses, he often forgot, as she almost always wore her contacts. For Luke the thought of putting a foreign object into your eye was nothing short of disturbing, but that was besides the point. The point was that even though it was a Tuesday, thereby a work day, Lorelai had entered the diner, wearing her glasses. The whole time he'd known her, he'd never seen her wear glasses at the Inn, not once. And aside from seeing her every single morning before work, he'd been a frequent visitor of the establishment, since it always seemed like they were in need to get something fixed.

Lorelai remained in the door frame after speaking, as though she was awaiting some sort of reaction. He chose to ignore her, slightly wondering how long it would take her to give up. About ten to fifteen seconds later she made her way to the counter, slightly leaning over towards him.

- It is I, she said, now sporting a horrible French accent, lifting her glasses, so her eyes met his. - Lorelai.

Before Luke could do more than give Lorelai an annoyed look, Rory pulled her now giggling mother to their chosen table. He could see the girl muttering something to Lorelai which made her whisper something back and giggle even more loudly. Luke shook his head at it. Knowing there was a ninety percent chance that the laugh was on his expense, he made his revenge taking an extra long detour before making it to their table.

- What do you want, he asked, trying to sound annoyed.

He didn't want to admit it, but he'd missed Lorelai's strange and often inappropriate bits. The last couple of times she'd been in there, she'd been distant, carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders, and she'd rarely stayed longer than necessary. There were times he could remember when Lorelai would spend hours in the diner, talking nonesense. He wondered sometimes if her goal had been to make him smile or to make him annoyed. On the record, the latter was the more frequent result. Off the record, however, it was the first. Oh, there were plenty of times where something she did pissed him off, and with good reason. He'd be lying if he claimed their friendship was without fire power, but mostly the annoyed expression he wore was a mask he put on, just so she wouldn't detect that he secretly enjoyed their regular banter. Lorelai could get really obnoxious when she got him to admitt liking to do anything with her, so he made sure it remained a rarity.

He was about to ask the two again, when Lorelai finally spoke.

- Listen very carefully, she said, quietly, still sporting that horrible French accent. - I should say this only vance...

Ok, that phrase had a ring to it, but he couldn't quite pin it.

- You know, he replied. - Adding a really bad accent won't make the French understand you any better.

Rory snorted and bit her lip so she wouldn't laugh. Lorelai however skillfully refrained from replying, not a frown nor a scoff nor anything came from her, as she pretended to read the menu, probably testing how long she could keep him there before he reacted. Rory seemed to think the same, as she poked her mother in the arm to get her attention.

- I'd lick a choose barker, she finally announced in absolute seriousness, this time in a Brittish accent.

- Lick a what.., Luke asked, staring at her like she had grown a second head.

- She said she'd like a cheese burger, Rory translated, acting as if this was common behavior for her mother.

Becoming slightly concerned, he leaned down.

- Is she drunk, he asked.

He was surprised he hadn't considered the posibillity before, as this _had_ to be what Lorelai plus larger amounts of alcohol equalled. Although he had in fact experienced it first hand, his memory was too fuzzy for him to compare the two on account of him being fairly drunk at the time as well.

- Nope, Rory replied. - Just overdosed on 'Allo, 'Allo, I'm afraid.

He found it a bit funny that the last piece of information actually made sense of Lorelai's behaviour, as normally the explanation would only confuse him even more. Then again, for once it was Rory and not Lorelai who explained and to his knowledge, the girl didn't have her mother's passion for keeping him confused.

- We found it while channel surfing one day, Rory explained. - I think I was around thirteen. So mom fell completely in love with it and we never missed an episode... until mom started doing the impressions, that is. She drove Michel insane, especially with the French accent. '_Yvette_' was her specialty. But as fun as it was to watch her tormenting Michel, I did feel a little bad for him, so I made the channel skip...

- _Traitor_.., Lorelai exclaimed.

- Of course, that only lead to her buying the box set and she found the love of her life, the policeman who thinks he can speak French, Rory continued, ignoring her mother's outburst. - Um, there's this Brittish policeman...

- I know which one you mean, Luke interrupted.

- You know, Rory asked in disbelief.

- I may have caught a couple of episodes, Luke shrugged. - He's the idiot that no one understands, right? Except when that resistance woman talks to him.

- Michelle, Rory confirmed. - Wow, I never figured you to be into 'Allo 'Allo.

- I'm not _into_ a show, just because I've seen a few episodes, Luke objected.

- Who'd you rather have singing in your diner, Lorelai challenged. - Maria or Edith?

- Neither, Luke gruffed.

- You're not getting off so easily, pick one.

- Maria, he sighed.

- Why?

- Because you'd have to be tone deaf to do otherwise.

- He's a fan, Lorelai informed Rory. - All this time and we never knew.

- We learn something new every day, Rory agreed.

- Geez, Luke muttered. - Can we just change the subject back to since Lorelai owns the box set, how is it she hasn't already driven me crazy with this nonesense?

- She took it, Lorelai said, pointing accusingly at Rory. - Hid it so mommy can't get to it.

- Good girl, Luke chuckled. - If only you could do the same with her coffee, then all would be right in the world.

- You're both cruel, cruel people, Lorelai pouted. - Why, I wonder, am I still hanging out with the two of you?

- Because, without me, you'd starve, Luke replied, dryly.

- Right, that.

- And if I hadn't been here to hide the box, Michel would've killed you by now, Rory added. - And I'd rather have you stay alive at least until we're back from Europe.

- When are you guys leaving?

- The day after Graduation, Rory answered, proudly.

- That's right, I almost forgot, Lorelai exclaimed.

Fumbling with her purse, she pulled out an envelope, which she handed to him.

- What's this, he asked, confused.

- That, Lorelai replied. - Is your ticket for Graduation.

- My ticket?

- Yeah, Rory confirmed. - Mom and I were talking and we both agreed that we'd like you to be there.

- Really?

- Really. You've pretty much been through this whole Chilton thing with us, Lorelai said in complete seriousness. - It's a bit formal, so I thought you could put that suit I bought you to good use.

- Okay, he replied. - I'll be there.

- Okay, Lorelai asked in awe. - Here I thought we'd have to drag you with us, kicking and screaming.

- No kicking. No screaming.

- Did you hear the part about the suit?

- I heard the part about the suit.

- But...

- Are you trying to talk me into it, or out of it?

- Sorry, I'm just surprised.

- Oh, by the way, Rory added. - Dad's not coming so if you want to bring someone, Nicole maybe, then you could get his ticket, too.

He didn't see that one coming. That Chris wasn't showing didn't really surprise him, he'd actually assumed that was the case when Lorelai handed over the ticket. He wasn't sure why he'd thought he'd been the substitute, he'd just had. Apparently he'd underestimated his significance in the lives of the Gilmore girls. As for bringing Nicole, who to his knowledge only had met Rory that one time, using her _father_'s ticket...

- Actually, he heard himself say. - Nicole's really busy with this case, so it's just gonna be me.

He lied. There was no big case. Nicole had made a point of it when she'd called him two days ago that aside some minor things here and there she was as free as a bird, which was why they were now taking the opportunity of going away together. He wasn't sure why he was so reluctant to bring her. One reason was that Nicole would have no interesst in it, which was somewhat true. She didn't know Rory, so watching a girl she didn't know graduate would probably not be her thing, but she was eagerly participating in his life so if he'd asked her, he knew she'd say yes. However he also knew Lorelai wasn't Nicole's favourite person. What was it with his girlfriends always questioning his friendship with Lorelai? _Don't go there, Danes. You don't want to know._ Either way, he knew that if he'd brought her with him, it'd make Lorelai uncomfortable, especially since she knew that Nicole didn't like her and the last thing he wanted was to ruin her and Rory's big day.

- I appreciate the offer, though, he added.

He watched Lorelai breathe out in relief, probably not realizing he was watching her. It was obvious Rory's gesture didn't sit well with her. He couldn't say he was surprised. If he'd been in her shoes he wasn't sure if he'd been that comfortable if she'd brought someone with her to _his_ kid's graduation. Realizing he was once more heading in a direction he wasn't keen on thinking off, he shook it off.

- Besides a cheeseburger and coffee, what more do you want, he asked, changing the subject.

- What? No lecture, no apples, Rory asked, surprised.

- Don't give him any ideas, Lorelai shushed her.

- The apple rule still holds, Luke assured them. - I'm just taking the order now instead of later.

- Now, look what you've done, Lorelai pouted. - For that I'm changing my order to choccolate chip pancakes with whipped cream on top.

- Ooo, same for me, Rory added.

Luke let out a very obvious groan.

- Only today, he told them and brought them the two biggest apples he had in the fruit bowl.

Lorelai frowned as she examined the size of hers, however she made no vocal complaint as she bit into it.

- This reminds me, she said to Rory, who'd also taken a bite out of hers. - We should be carefull when we talk about cheerleading in France.

- Why would we discuss cheerleading in France?

- We might get bored, Lorelai explained.

- You expect us to get bored in France?

- Of course not, but you never expect to get bored when you actually do get bored. It's often when you don't expect it that you actually end up being bored the most.

- Ok, Rory replied, putting her hands up in defeat. - Point made, so say, hypotheticly, we get bored in France. We start talking about cheerleading because...

- Cause I'm really into fringe, Lorelai suggested, shrugging. - I don't know. Why _do_ we start talking about the things we talk about?

- The eternal question is asked yet again, Luke commented, dryly.

- No one consulted you, officer McGrumpy, Lorelai shot at him.

- Ok, so back to cheerleading, Rory said. - Why do we need to be carefull?

- Well you know how apple is '_pomme_' in French, Lorelai explained, receiving a nod from her kid. - Well picture us getting into a discussion about pom poms, size, color, whatever. Say we do it in a French restaurant and they mistake it for our order and all we get that day is a crate full of apples.

- You do realize that they actually understand English in France, Rory remarked.

- Not all of them, for all we know we might stumble upon an old family restaurant where they are too old and stubborn to learn English, only we don't know that. Then we'd end up with only apples for dinner.

- Then at least you'll be eating one healthy meal in between the rest of the junk you consume, Luke butted in.

- Okay, solution, Rory suggested, ignoring Luke's last remark. - We avoid any restaurants that looks to be driven by elderly, stubborn French people and keep our cheerleading discussions away from the eateries.

- That could work.

- Then it's settled.

- You're nuts, Luke commented, shaking his head as he made his way back to the counter and the brochure waiting for him.

TBC


	25. I might be

AN: Ok, so I've put up with there being less reviews these past two chapters, but that won't be the case here, if you want me to update soon, you better review. This was originally gonna be chapter 26, but since the events arounf Graduation would be more or less the same I felt to dedicate a whole chapter to it would be kinda pointless and I'd only get complaints on how there was too much of the show in it. So I combined the two, and this is the result.

**Julia** & **JJSoulmatesLL** - Wow, patience really isn't your virtue. I really hope you're not taking offence on that remark. In one way I can get how it may seem like the story's standing still, but if that's how you feel, then I'm afraid you're not looking too close. I'm trying to be realistic, consider everything that surrounds them as well as remembering who they are and the way they think and act. LL take time. Especially when there's obsticles. I think with the slow pace and the number of chapters people forget that not that much time has passed by. I could go on and on about this, instead I'm just saying one thing. We're only a couple of months into this story and Lorelai's already admitted to being in love with Luke. If I were to go any faster time-wise, in this situation it would be unrealistic.

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - LOL, looks to me that I'm gaining one more essay-like reviewer here, gotta say I love it. It's wonderfull to hear opinions and observations and I agree very much to your comment on Luke choosing the paths he does. What I believe is that with season 2, first he was giving her space, but before he could make time to make a move, he had to deal with Jess and when he sent Jess home, him and Lorelai weren't talking. Season 3 is self-explanatory. Lorelai started dating Alex and Luke decided to instead of waiting around to take a chance with Nicole... lol, Luke takes his time :)

**flcrkr** - I'm glad I made you laugh, I agree that the cheerleading-apple-France ordeal was crazy, don't ask me where it came from, it just did. And to answer your question a couple of the previous chapters has been in Luke's POV, time to freshen up your memory, I think :P

**Rachel** - I just gotta point out, I LOVE long reviews, they make life worth living. I'm glad you decided to get back on track with the story :) Your review made me laugh, read this chapter and go back and re-read your review and you'll know why.

* * *

_- Well, I've been thinking and taking her on a cruise is pretty much committing to her. _

_- You don't want to committ? _

_- I'm not sure. I don't want to lead her on. I don't know, it's stupid. What do you think? _

_- I-I think..? _

_- Yeah. _

_- About your committing to Nicole? _

_- Well, kinda, yeah. I mean, you're a woman, you know more about these things than I do. You called me on the whole 'mentioning another woman on a first date' thing. What if she reads too much into this as well? _

_- Do you like her, Luke? I mean,_ really _like her? _

_- Yeah, she's great. _

_- Then maybe you should go. I mean, it's not like there's some other reason you might not want to go, right? _

_- Right. I guess I was just nervous for nothing. _

_- Yeah, probably. _

_- So, I'll see you in a couple of months? _

_- Yeah, a couple of months..._

Ever since she watched Luke walk away from her at the Chilton parking lot, Lorelai simply couldn't shake the conversation from her head. She thought about it at the party they held at the Crap Shack later that same day. The plane ride was the worst, as Rory fell asleep right after take-off, exhausted from staying up all night, busying herself with last minute packing.

_- The hostel brochures, I was sure I packed them, but they're not here. Where did we put them? ... What do you mean you had them for bedtime reading? We could've left them all behind, then what'd we do? ... This is no time for your snappy jokes, missy!_

Lorelai couldn't help but feel that she'd most likely made her second big mistake with Luke, encouraging him to go on that trip. The first had been leaving the appartment when she'd woken up naked in his bed. She mentally cursed herself for seeing _'Sliding Doors'_ just days before as her head was now filled with _'what if's_. There was no doubt that her life would've been different if she hadn't panicked and stayed put, but would it've been for the better?

Sure at first it seemed like Helen's life had turned to the better, she'd gotten out from the lie that had been her relationship and found a good man, who she fell in love with, but she'd also died. Not that Lorelai anticipated that staying in the bed would have lead to her death, but maybe something else had taken the turn for the worse. The second Helen seemed to always get the short end of the stick, having to waiter on people to support herself and Jerry, who was constantly cheating on her. But then she'd found her strength in the end minutes, left Jerry and met James in the hospital elevator, the same man her earlier self had met on the tube.

Lorelai had to believe that if things were written in the stars, then she would get her chance, somehow. Someway. Maybe there was a reason, something she didn't yet know. Maybe she never would know it.

She'd had too much time to contemplate on this, as Europe had greeted her and Rory with three days worth of rain. The first day it had all been allright, as both of them were jet-lagged and out of sync with each other. Rory had just slept for six hours solid on the plane and although she was still tired, she hadn't been able to get back to sleep. Lorelai however had been gone the second her head hit the pillow. As day two had also been grey clouds and frequents showers, it had become a lazy day. They had slept in, missing breakfast, which apparently ended at 10 am every morning. So when they crawled out of bed in the early afternoon, they had to make their way to a place nearby, _'chez Renée'_, the name not going unnoticed by Lorelai. The strict look from Rory was the only thing stopping her from pulling an _'Yvette'_ on the poor, unsuspecting waitor. He had no idea what a near miss he'd had.

After eating, they had taken up visiting indoor sights that didn't require that much queueing in the rain, mostly museums. When day three also could only offer rain, Rory had suggested they'd move on, but Lorelai had refused. Before leaving Paris behind, she wanted to see the top of the Effel Tower and that wasn't something you did in the rain. It didn't matter how Rory pointed out, they could return at a later point on their trip, Lorelai was sure if she let it, the weather Gods would make sure any return trip to the city would have nothing but rainy skies. So they stayed put.

When Tuesday finally arrived with never ending clear blue skies and Lorelai had finished her little victory dance, she found herself at the hostel's second floor shared bathroom, getting ready for the first _real_ day in Paris. Having been looking forward to this trip for months, not to mention years, she had the perfect outfit picked out. It wasn't that it was the nicest set she owned, there were plenty of better and worse. But it was one of those things, when you saw it in the store, you just felt like saving it for the right occasion, in this case, the true beginning of her and Rorys backpacking trip.

She felt uncomfortable changing in the bathroom, not half as uncomfortable as taking a shower there had been, as there were no locks on the door and the only thing sepparating the showers from the rest of the room were a couple of very thin shower curtains. Also the experience of finding a man showering in the girl's bathroom hadn't helped much, especially when it was the same man who'd kept waking her up in the middle of the night by pulling slightly on her sheet. He'd stopped doing it after she, half asleep, had kicked him hard in the shin. But it hadn't stopped him from coming on to her in the day. She couldn't tell where he was from, his English was bad, his French, according to Rory, was even worse. After witnessing him coming out from one of the showers, wearing only a towel around his waist, she'd had enough and reported him to the staff. He'd been kicked out that same night.

The man was gone, but the doors remained unlocked, anyone could still walk in at any given minute. So Lorelai, who'd been used to browsing her closet in her underwear, dressed quickly. The skirt sat tighter than she could remember, she knew she should've checked the instructions more carefully before washing it. Luckily _that_ still fit. The top on the other hand, didn't. She pulled on the fabric, trying to get the buttons closed, but there was no use. The gap was too big. The top four were the only ones behaving. The rest, no matter how much she pulled, was a mission impossible. She stared into the mirror, turning from side to side, trying to figure out any part to stretch without ruining it and that was when it hit her, a blast from the past. A significant moment, very simillar to this one. _Shit._

Rory was already dressed, sitting crosslegged on her bed, reading a tourist brochure they had picked up from the information desk the night before, by the time Lorelai returned to the room, still sporting her pyjamas.

- Aren't you dressed yet, she exclaimed, when she saw her. - It says here we should try to get there as early as possible to avoid the really long queues. I shouldn't have to remind you that it was _you_ who _had_ to see the Eiffel Tower before we left.

- I know and we will. I just need to talk to you about something first.

- We have about two hours worth of queueing time to talk, can't it wait?

- It's more of a sitting down kinda conversation.

- Is anything wrong, Rory asked, worriedly.

- That's what I need to find out.

- I'm listening.

- Well.., Lorelai sighed. - Rory, what do you, you know, think of Gigi? You like her, right?

Rory gave her a puzzled look.

- Of course I do, she answered, - She's my sister. 'Course I hardly see her at all, so I don't really think about her that often.

- But you'd like to see her more, right?

- She's my sister, why wouldn't I? But it's not like that's changing. With college and all I won't exactly have that much time to see her.

- But if say she was to come over, that'd be cool with you.

- I'm trying really hard to follow you. When would she be coming over?

- I'm saying more like hypotheticly, if Gigi was to be at our house a lot, like on a daily basis...

- Are dad and Sherry moving?

- No.

- Then what's with the.., Rory questioned when suddenly her eyes widened. - Oh no...

- Oh, yeah, Lorelai replied, nervously.

- You're...

- I think so.

- When did you realize..?

- Just now.

- How?

- That outfit I was gonna wear to the Eiffel Tower today. Two months ago, when I bought it, it fitted me perfectly. Now I can't button it to save my life.

- That doesn't have to mean anything, Rory pointed out. - You could just be getting fat. The way you've been eating I'm surprised your metabolism didn't crack sooner.

- Sweetie, you have no idea how much I wish this was just me getting fat. I'd run around the block of pure joy if this turned out to be nothing and you know how much I hate exercise.

- Well, lets think of this logically, how long since...

- Four months.

- Oh boy.

- Quite possibly, could be one or the other.

- It's been four months and you didn't notice anything being off?

- Well, I don't exactly have the best track record in keeping track of auntie Flo. She comes and goes as she pleases, just like my mother. Hello, it took my coming out dress not fitting to realize I was having you.

- You don't write it up?

- No, never have. Why, do you?

- Yes.

- Really?

- Yes, ever since I got it. I like being prepared. Avoid white underwear. Have tampons ready. That sort of thing.

- I swear, Lorelai said, shaking her head. - I have no idea where you got those organisation skills of yours. They're certainly not from me and I never ever saw your dad as much of a planner.

- I've heard it skips a generation, Rory quipped.

Being the only two who hadn't left for breakfast yet, the entire room fell silent.

- So, what are you planning to do, Rory asked.

- I guess I'll have to get a test, first of all.

- And if it's positive?

- Well, then I guess you'll be getting a little brother or a sister.

- Or both, Rory suggested. - Like in your dream.

- That's not even remotely funny, missy.

- It's kinda funny.

They fell silent for a couple of minutes, digesting the possibility.

- Mom, Rory said, breaking the silence.

- Yeah?

- We can do the Eiffel tomorrow.

TBC

_AN: Feel the need for an Author's Note here at the bottom, this one to **buckice** (Kari), when I read WHC chapter 36 my initial reaction was: "She stole my idea" lol, I thought I'd mention that here since I didn't want you or anyone else to think I was copying you (Not that I think you'd think that). Your reaction to that Partings scene was pretty much my reaction to that chapter. I would've said it in my review, but since I wasn't looking to spoil anyone, and some of the people who read your story, reads mine, I couldn't really make the revelation now could I? lol I just thought I'd say this before anyone else commented on it._


	26. Who, mom?

AN: I loved the large amounts of "I knew it" that came in the reviews. I've always had fun reading reviews, especially how so many reviewers went back and forward on their opinions. Those were the most fun to read. So I took great joy in harvesting the "I knew it"s here :)

**Rachel** - Yeah, you're psychic, or well, you just called on the signs. I love that you're excited and that you could identify with the calendar thing, cause that I can't. I'm very like Lorelai that way, I have no clue... lol As for the guy, that's actually something that happened to me when I was in London two years ago. I had the upper bunk and he had the one next to mine and in the middle of the night he would pull on my sheet, trying to wake me up. I was so annoyed I hit him with my lotion bottle (which I always have to have with me, but since Lorelai isn't addicted to lotion like me, I had to have her kick him instead) and I also found him showering in the girls bathroom when I was originally gonna shower, so instead I just washed my hair in the sink, cause no way was I getting naked when there possibly was a guy in there. I did report him, but it was the police who finally kicked him out.

**ravenb** - Yeah, I love Sliding Doors, I bought that movie at full price when it came out, something I rarely do, since I'm an expert of finding movies to good prices if I only wait a little bit. I just couldn't with that one.

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - Now _there_'s a real "I knew it", people, learn from this one :P I do think you missunderstood something, it took her 3 1/2 months to realize, it's been 4 months since her last period. I think normally Lorelai would've noticed sooner, however all the symptomes could coinsidentally be something else, plus she was majorly distracted with everything that happened, which is why it took her the top not fitting to realize. You also have to realize she's only gained a little weight so far.

**bokayjunkie** - No, Lorelai wouldn't've been fat by now, she's only 3 1/2 months along, or technicly 4 months since it's measured from the last period and not from conception. My mom told me she wasn't even showing when she was 4 months along with my sister. In the beginning you actually loose weight, because you throw up a lot. Now, Lorelai didn't have that frequent morning sickness, so she didn't loose that much weight, which is why I'm having her notice the weight gain now and not later. As for Graduation, well Lorelai explained to Sookie in one of the previous chapters why she wasn't gonna tell Luke she had feelings for him.

**AndyPrueForever** - I'm very glad you're enjoying the story and that you even recommended it to your friend. That's great. And thank you for reviewing :) I'm hoping you feel compelled to do that again.

* * *

Rory could understand how for some people, the big role reversal she had with her mom could seem a bit strange. She couldn't remember when it had all started. Lorelai had always claimed Rory had grown up whilst still in the womb, but she just couldn't see herself bossing her mom around at the age of two. She couldn't picture herself at age four, lecturing her mom on table manners. Or... well, when she thought about it, that _could've_ happened. Rory chuckled. Regardless how it had begun, by the time she'd reached her teens, it had become second nature and she hadn't really given it much thought since then. Until this morning, when her mother had approached her and confided in her that there was a big chance she was pregnant.

The subject of siblings hadn't really been on Rory's mind since age four or five, when one of the other kids in kindergarthen was gonna be a big brother, and she had asked her mom if she one day would be one too. After joking that siblings or no siblings she would never become a big brother, Lorelai had honestly told her that there had to be a man in mommy's life for that to happen and since there was no man at that moment, she shouldn't get her hopes up. Then when she finally saw her mom dating again, Rory was sixteen and the thought of the posibillity to have younger siblings was long gone from her mind. Then Gigi was born, and Rory honestly believed then that this would most likely be the only sister she got and she hadn't really given it more thought that that.

She would be nineteen in just a few short months, yet, here she was, sitting in her room at a hostel in Paris, waiting for her _mom_ to take a pregnancy test. If the situation had been anything resembling normal, it would've been the other way around. Though if it _had_ been reversed and she had in fact been pregnant, she would've demanded her own religion, but that was besides the point. She just couldn't imagine many other people her age to find themselves in this kind of situation, but then again, that was the special thing with her and her mom. There would always be surprises and quirks along the way, making sure their lives remained a little unusual.

There was some fumbling with the door handle and Rory could hear her mother curse loudly on the other side of the door as she most likely punched in the code for the door once again. At the second attempt, the door opened and Rory looked up at her mom, expectantly.

- Well, she asked.

- A plus sign, Lorelai nodded. - I'm pregnant.

Strangely enough, Rory found herself just nodding to the news. If the situation was different, like if her mother had been in a stable relationship, she was sure she would jump up and give her a hug, but being unsure on what Lorelai herself thought about the situation, Rory remained seated. Lorelai's face didn't make any indication on whether the news of the coming baby was good or bad, as she took a seat next to her daughter.

- I'm pregnant, Lorelai repeated, quietly, still staring at the test in her hand.

Rory could clearly see the plus sign from where she was sitting, the symbol making the situation a bit more real for both of them.

- So, she said, breaking the silence that had crept upon them. - Have you thought about what you're gonna tell Alex?

- What, Lorelai asked, a little out of it. - _Alex_? What do I need to talk to him for?

- You're not even gonna tell him, Rory exclaimed.

- Tell him what?

- Oh, I don't know. That you're having his baby? Seriously mom, just because you're broken up now, doesn't mean he doesn't have a right to know. Besides, you know he's not like dad. You told me yourself, he has two kids he's crazy about. He'd want to be involved.

- Sweetie, it's not his, Lorelai sighed.

- What? How?

- Alex and I never slept together.

- But you dated, Rory pointed out. - You dated for a while. And, I don't know, it seemed like you really liked him.

- It just, it just never happened, Lorelai shrugged. - I don't know, it just never came up.

- You went away for the weekend together...

- ...and came back the same night, Lorelai pointed out.

- Right, Rory realized. - Then who? The only other person I can think of is Mr. Medina and there the math doesn't add up.

- It's not Max.

- Well, who is it then, mom?

- Well, okay. Remember that night when Sherry had Gigi and you and I had to go to the hospital...

- Oh no, Rory interrupted. - Please don't say anything happened with dad that night. 'Cause, seriously, after last time, you should've learned your lesson.

- Rory, Lorelai reasoned. - Chris has two kids and unless him and Sherry plan on having any more, that's the way it's gonna stay.

- So it's not dad's.

- No, it's not your dad's.

- Then who? I'm tired of this whole guessing game. Is it someone I know?

- Yes, Lorelai answered. - And you like him. I don't know how important that is, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

- This conversation's beginning to sound kinda familliar.

- Maybe we've had it in some alternate reality, Lorelai suggested.

- Stop trying to change the subject. Tell me already!

Lorelai took a deep breath.

- It's Luke.

Rory was glad she wasn't eating or drinking anything when her mother said it, cause if she had, she would've choked on whatever it was and that would've been bad.

- Luke, she asked, in shock. - Our Luke? The town Luke? Our coffee providor? You slept with him?

- Yes, Lorelai sighed.

- How, Rory asked. - No, don't tell me how, that I don't need to know. Why? Why's good. Is that why things have been weird between you? Oh, and Nicole, what about Nicole? Is this why she hates you?

- No, Nicole doesn't know. Luke doesn't even know. Besides, this happened before Nicole, so even if she did know, she'd have no reason to hate me for it, since it was before her. So she has other reasons for hating me.

- Okay, that one you might have to explain.

- Well, Luke didn't know what to talk about on his first date with her, so he brought me up, since I'm his great source of entertainment and she took it kinda badly.

- Not that, Rory objected. - How is it possible for you to sleep with him and not have him remember? That's what I don't get.

- Well, if you'd let me tell the story and not interrupt me all the time, I would've been able to tell you, Lorelai replied, frustrated.

- Okay, Rory said. - I'm just trying to wrap my mind around this.

- I know, I'm sorry. I know this is weird for you.

- Try confusing.

- Well, Lorelai sighed. - So we were in the hospital. You were aslep when Chris came out of the delivery room. I suggested waking you up, but he wanted to let you sleep, while he showed me Gigi.

- I'm trying really hard to make the connection between this and you sleeping with Luke.

- I'm getting there.

- Sorry.

- So, I'm standing there, looking at that newborn baby girl and all I can hear is Chris going on and on about what an amazing experience it all was and how she was perfect and all I can think about is how Sherry got that side of him when it had been me, I'd been all alone.

- Mom.., Rory said, trying to find a way to ask the question that had formed in her head.

- It's over between me and Chris, Lorelai answered, as if she'd known the question. - Did it piss me off that when Sherry got pregnant, he was completely there for her? Yes. Do I still think she's not right for him? Yes. But Chris and I were through the moment he walked away at Sookie's wedding. It took me a while to get over the shock of it all, but when I was at that hospital, I didn't wish that it was me there in Sherry's place. I was just bitter about how it took him eighteen years to become a father and he didn't even do that for you. That's what hurt the most.

- Mom, it's ok.

- No, it's not, Lorelai said. - But it's the way it is.

- It's okay, Rory repeated. - Cause I'll always have you.

Lorelai smiled and pulled her in for an embrace.

- No matter what, she promised, kissing her head.

- I'm still waiting to hear how this all leads to Luke.

- Well, as you can imagine, I was in a funk when we got back and I just wanted to see a friendly face. You were asleep again the minute we got home, so I went to Luke's. He gave me some coffee, although I never asked.

- It's doesn't exactly take a genious to know when you need coffee, Rory pointed out.

- No, you're right about that, Lorelai chuckled. - Only I wasn't really in a coffee mood, so I asked him if he had tequila, which he did, only not downstairs. So we went upstairs, had some drinks and the next thing I remember, I'm waking up, naked in bed with him and well, this plus sign here is a definate proof that something happened.

- You don't remember?

- The only thing I remember is us drinking and talking. I don't know who kissed who, I don't know who made which move. And when I woke up, I wasn't looking to find out. I grabbed my clothes and bailed before he woke up, and well... you remember the rest.

- I _knew_ you were drunk that morning.

- Hungover, Lorelai corrected.

- But how can you be sure he doesn't remember?

- He told me. He asked me if I got home safely and admitted he couldn't remember when I'd left.

- Oh, Rory simply answered.

- Then the whole Nicole thing began and well...

- You're gonna tell him now, though, Rory stated. - Right?

Lorelai didn't answer.

- Mom, Rory continued. - You have to tell him. He deserves to know.

- I know, Lorelai sighed. - I just don't want to think about it right now. I need a couple of days to digest this. Please.

- You're not thinking about getting ridd of it, are you?

- No, Lorelai replied, shaking her head. - I could never do that. It's not the best timing in the world, but I guess that's just my pattern.

- Two incidents form a line, you need a third to get a pattern, Rory replied.

- Oh God, please let the third happen under more stable conditions, Lorelai groaned. - Not when I'm currently unemployed, my daughter being indepted to my parents so she can go to college and I'm about to risk everything, jumping into business with my best friend, who's _also_ pregnant.

- It'll get better, mom. You managed before when you were just a maid, you can do this.

- I just need to get some ground under my feet.

- You will, you always do, Rory said, confidently. - Hey mom...

- What?

- You're having a baby.

- Yeah, Lorelai sighed. - That I am.

- Come on, Rory said, getting to her feet. - Lets go someplace and celebrate my new baby brother or sister. My treat.

- That sounds good, Lorelai agreed.

- _Chez Renée_?

- Can I pull an _'Yvette'_ on the waitor?

- No.

- Come on...

- No.

- Please?

A double cheeseburger with a large plate of fries, or _'pommes frites'_ as they called it over here, two double-scouped ice creams and three large crossaints, because Lorelai insisted she was hungry again, later, they were back at the hostel, getting ready for bed. Lorelai was lying in bed, running her hand up and down her stomach, which was already slightly curved, though not overly noticeable yet.

- I'm gonna be fat, she groaned.

- Don't have sex if you can't handle the consequences, Rory replied, getting under the covers.

Even though, they had just celebrated the baby, her mom still seemed a bit distant and somewhat reluctant to the idea and Rory couldn't help but worry about that. She was all aware about it being really bad timing, but she couldn't imagine getting pregnant at sixteen being much better. However, Rory had to believe that it would be allright, her mom had, after all, never given her a reason to think otherwise.

- Goodnight, mom, she said. - I love you.

- Right back at you, kid, Lorelai replied.

Rory closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep, but her mind wouldn't let her, so she processed everything her mother had told her that day. As she slowly but surely got more drowsy, she heard her mother's voice in a soft whisper.

- Goodnight, little one.

She fell asleep with a smile on her face.

TBC


	27. I am in love with him

AN: I love it when the chapters are basicly writing themselves :) I know I'll probably encounter trouble later on. A huge thanx to Steph, my trusty beta for making sure I don't make an ass out of myself... lol

**Mandy** - Thank you for leaving me more than one review, I always love when readers take time to comment more than once. What would've happened if Lorelai stayed? Well, probably a lot of different things, but since the story lead this way, I can't tell you what. This isn't a Sliding Doors story, you won't get to know what could've happened if a little thing had changed.

**ACE5203** - I never knew two lines could make me laugh so much, but it did. Maybe I should change my name to Amy :P

**Rachel** - Allright, so you are psychic... lol. Yeah, the Chris thing is something I wanted to write, I think I did it in character too, most important to me is to keep them in character.

**flcrkr** - I'm glad it made you laugh, so many people asked me why Rory hadn't asked who the dad was and I thought it had been so obvious why... lol, apparently not. I think people tend to forget some of the previous events... lol

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - I love hearing your thoughts. I read that review over and over again, cause it was so great. On most your questions I'll just have to say "wait and find out". Lorelai marrying a French guy? lol, that one was funny. I wish there was more I could say in reply to you, since you said so much to me. I can say that every point you've mentioned is on my mind and I know the answer to most of them ;) Meanwhile, just enjoy the story and leave more long reviews, I live for these babies ;)

* * *

Even though Lorelai wasn't completely comfortable with the idea of having a doctors appointment in a foreign country, the rational side of her, a side that very rarely came out to play, ackowledged that waiting until she was back in America wouldn't be the safest. She would be on the verge of her third trimester by then, plus she was well aware she '_wasn't twenty anymore_', which in her opinion was a stupid saying, as when _she_ had been twenty she'd been too busy raising a four year old and working her butt of as a maid to even be _thinking_ of having anymore kids. Besides only a small portion had kids in their twenties nowadays. With so many career-driven people in the world, now more than ever, kids was something one did in fact wait until they were in their thirties to have. In reality, it was becoming a more often occurance that people became first time parents later than thirty-five, Lorelai's current age.

But trend or no trend, at any age, but especially hers and up, having at least one check-up before she hit the last trimester was only wise. So with a little help from the desk clerk at the hostel she and Rory still was staying at, she had made a doctors appointment for as soon as possible, which turned out to not be until Monday, five days later at a small, but respectable clinic, according to the desk clerk, who had actually experienced many pregnancies amongst guests as well a couple of miscarriages. Lorelai's case was more common and far more pleasurable to help out with, according to the girl, who in matter of minutes had taken her name, called the clinic, spoken quickly for about five minutes in French with the person at the other end and then had given her a piece of paper with the date, address, time, as well which bus to take.

So Monday at noon, both Lorelai and Rory found themselves in the clinic's waiting room, waiting for the appointment, which was starting thirty minutes ago, some things never change, Lorelai ackowledged, no matter what country one were in. Rory was engrossed in _'The Fountainhead'_ for the infinate time, while Lorelai was browsing through a French Vogue, trying to look like she understood it, when she really only was looking at the pictures. Her kid had suggested buying an English edition, but Lorelai claimed she wanted to see if she could pass as French. Fifteen minutes later and no more pictures to study, Lorelai was ready to see how long it would take her to piss off the woman at the desk, when another woman came out the door.

- Lorelai _Gille-more_, she asked.

She raised her brows as she'd never realized her name could sound so _French_. She nudged Rory in the side, who hadn't even registered that someone had spoken and got up, grabbing her bag, jacket and her French-English, English-French dictionary.

The doctor, who she up until walking through the door of the office had thought to be called _Jill Marie_, turned out to be _Gilles Marie_, a man. Lorelai silently cursed the French and the way they always seemed to give men girl's names and vice versa. It wasn't that she needed her doctor to be female, it was more that she was already uncomfortable enough having to resort to a crappy dictionary to get through a simple appointment. Rory had said she was crazy when she'd wanted to bring it, but when the woman at the desk turned out to not know a single word in English and not even Rory understood everything the woman said, an apology had been made.

However as the doctor spotted the dictionary, he let out a small laugh.

- You don't need that, he said, in surprisingly good English.

- You don't sound French, Lorelai sputtered in shock.

- Actually, I am French, he answered. - French-Canadian.

- You don't sound French-Canadian either, Rory pointed out.

- Well my dad's American, he shrugged. - So I grew up bilingual. Ok, so you're here to confirm a pregnancy, is that right?

- Yeah, Lorelai answered. - That's right.

- Ok, so I'm going to need the date of the first day of your last menstrual cycle.

- I was afraid you'd ask that, Lorelai chuckled.

- Mom doesn't have these things written down, Rory explained.

- She's your mom, Gilles asked, surprised.

- I am and I beg of you, for your own safety not to resort to the classic '_you couldn't possibly be old enough to be her mother_' line, Lorelai warned.

- Wouldn't dream of it, he answered. - Not because I don't find you attractive, Ms Gilmore. Because pregnant or not, you are a very attractive woman, but I don't have the habit of hitting of my patients, also I'm sure my Jeanette wouldn't appreciate me doing so.

- You have a lot of experience with pregnant women, don't you, Lorelai asked.

- Daily, Gilles answered.

- Thought so, Lorelai smiled. - The whole complimentary nature gave it away.

- It's the only way to deal with moodswings, he nodded. - But we're getting off track. You were going to tell me the date of the first day in the last menstrual cycle.

- Well, I can't say the date for sure, Lorelai sighed. - But I think it was early February, like maybe the 5th or 6th or something.

- That's four months ago, the doctor pointed out.

- Yes it is, Lorelai confirmed.

- And you didn't consider pregnancy to be the cause until now, he asked, with brows raised. - Most women, especially most mothers notice it sooner than this.

- Yeah, well, Lorelai chuckled. - I dare to be different.

- What other symptoms have you had?

- Well, Lorelai said, thinking back. - Some nausea, not as much as when I was having Rory, some general discomfort and I was over-sensitive, but I just thought it was because of stress. It hasn't been the best couple of months.

- Stress can have that effect, but I do think we are dealing with a pregnancy here. You've taken a home test?

- Yeah, a big shiny plus sign at the end of it.

- Allright, but just to make sure, we're going to do a test here before continuing with this check-up, he said, handing her a plastic cup. - I'm sure I don't need to tell you what I need.

- No, Lorelai answered. - I'm very perceptive.

There was some waiting after Lorelai had handed the cup back to the doctor. He had given her a gown, as for both of them the pregnancy test was only a technicality, there was no doubt in hers or the doctor's mind that she was indeed pregnant. A little while after she'd gotten comfortable in the chair, the result came back. Once more it was confirmed that Lorelai Gilmore was having her second baby. The doctor did a couple of other tests, most of them of little interesst for the mother to be herself, except for the ultrasound.

The moment she got to see the outline of her baby, that was the moment the pregnancy felt real to her. It was weird, since she'd already been through all of it, but having it almost be two decades ago, her memory was slightly fuzzy. The last couple of days, '_pregnancy_ and '_baby_' had only been words to her. She'd come around to the idea that she was pregnant and was having a baby. But it was this moment of seeing the lines that at this point made it look like she was having some sort of alien, this moment was when it really hit her. In five months or so she would be cradling a newborn again and no matter how hard she knew it would be, the thought of that infant in her arms made her want to smile, smile for a week without stopping, just like she had when she'd seen baby Rory on the first ultrasound, many moons ago.

- Well, Ms. Gilmore, Gilles said. - This baby seems to be developing just fine. Lets listen to the heartbeat.

He turned on a knob and the sound of a rapid heartbeat filled the room and Lorelai didn't even notice the tear she had shed until it reached her chin.

- One strong heartbeat there, he told them.

- Looks like you're not getting those twin siblings after all, Lorelai joked to her daughter.

- That's okay, Rory choked out, hoarsely, clearly overwhelmed by the whole thing. - One's good, too.

Rory remained mute until they were both out of the office, walking down the street. Lorelai had talked the doctor into giving them each a print of the ultrasound and now neither she nor Rory could make themselves stop looking at the tiny black'n white picture.

- So, you think we can change our tickets, Rory suddenly asked.

- What tickets, Lorelai asked, giving her daughter a confused look.

- Our plane tickets, you know, for going home, Rory shrugged.

- What makes you think we're going home?

- Well I figured with the baby and all you might want to... I don't know, tell Luke before the shock gets too big.

- Sweetie, whether I told him now or in two months, the shock will be just as big. Besides, Luke's away this Summer as well, so even if I was telling him...

- What do you mean _if_? You are telling him, aren't you? You can't _not_ tell Luke. He has a right to know. You have to tell him.

- Sweetie, _please_, Lorelai pleaded. - I had my doctors appointment just _ten_ minutes ago. Can you please let me have some space before you start pestering me with all these questions?

- Sorry.

- Now, we are _not_ going home. We've been planning this trip since forever and with this baby, who knows the next time we'll have the chance to do something like this, so lets just enjoy it, ok?

- Allright, Rory said in defeat. - But the backpack has to go?

- _What_, Lorelai exclaimed. - But what about my stuff?

- We'll go through all our things and cram whatever we need into mine. The rest we'll just have to throw away, I guess.

- Sweetie, we need everything we brought, we repacked the bags over and over again because we were eliminating the things we _could_ manage without and even if we didn't both of them are filled to the edge. We can't manage to part with half our stuff, no matter how good we are at eliminating unimportant things.

- I'm not letting you carry that heavy backpack. Pregnant women aren't supposed to be carrying heavy objects. It's bad for the baby.

- Then what do you suggest?

- I'm afraid we'll have to get you a wheely-bag, Rory shrugged.

- What? No, Lorelai exclaimed. - There's no way...

- It's the _only_ way.

- No, that can't be the only solution. Didn't we talk about handsome European men with mustaches carrying our stuff? What happened to that plan?

- You expect to be attracting European men in your predicament, Rory quipped.

- Nice thing to say to a pregnant woman. I'm going back to Gilles, at least he was nice to me. Maybe I can talk him into following us around. I'm a master at talking people into things.

- I think his girlfriend would have a problem with it, Rory chuckled.

- Minor setback, Lorelai shrugged.

- Plus, he'd have to bring his own stuff, which would limit his usability.

- European men don't need to bring their stuff, they just have to carry things and look sexy.

- You thought Gilles was sexy, Rory asked with her brow raised.

- Show me a photo of him in a month or so and I'll answer you then, Lorela answered. - Right now my hormones are clouding my judgement.

Rory gave her a confused look.

- It's a phase thing, Lorelai told her. - Same thing happened when I was having you, but in case you get the sudden urge to pull out my old yearbook, I'm gonna spare you the details on how I know.

- Appreciated, Rory answered. - But it doesn't get you out of buying that wheely-bag.

- But wheely-bags are for little old ladies doing their grocery shopping, Lorelai whined. - You and I used to complain about them, remember? We'd always trip over them when we didn't see them and when we did see them they'd be blocking the isles we needed to go to and since they were always used by sweet, little old ladies we couldn't even yell at them.

- Those are small every day bags, Rory pointed out.

- Exactly, _small_. With all my stuff I'd have to get a big one, blocking the sidewalks wherever I go and I might not pass for a little old lady, but I certainly will pass for a rude, obnoxious, American woman and I've heard that people don't take too kindly on those.

- Well, you _are_ three out of four, Rory chuckled.

- I can't believe you're calling me rude, Lorelai said, feigning a shock.

- You _are_ rude, you take pride in it. What are we, if not unapologetic mockers?

- True, Lorelai nodded.

- Besides, while people _might_ think you're rude and/or obnoxious, they'll also see that you're sensible enough to think of your unborn baby's welfare.

- Fine, Lorelai sighed. - I'll get the bag.

- You won't regret it, Rory promised.

- Yes I will, every night before I go to bed I'll hit myself for getting that bag, Lorelai answered. - But you're right. The baby's more important than mommy's pride. Hey, lets go someplace to eat, I'm starving.

- Why am I not surprised, Rory chuckled.

- Hey, I'm eating for two here.

- You've been eating for two your whole life.

- Well, so have you.

- It's from my mother's side of the family, Rory shrugged.

As it turned out eateries along the road they were walking were scarse, so when they finally reached a café the Gilmore girls reached a silent agreement to eat there, no matter what they served.

- What are you getting, Rory asked, looking up from her menu.

- Omelette, side of bacon and a huge cup of coffee to start with...

- _Mom_, you can't have coffee.

- Since when?

- Since you got pregnant?

- My money, my decision.

- It's bad for the baby, Rory stated.

- I had coffee every single day when I was pregnant with you, Lorelai pointed out. - And you turned out just fine. _Better_ than fine.

- But...

- _No_, Lorelai interrupted. - You've taken my dignity, you're not taking my coffee as well.

Rory didn't say anything more about the coffee issue, not even when Lorelai got her second refill in a 'to go' cup, although Lorelai saw her daughter raising her brows as she did.

- Allright, Rory said, as they had paid for the meal and was on their way out the door. - I think a shopping center is our best shot at finding you a bag. I asked the waitress for directions when you were in the bathroom, there's one not too far from here.

- Do I have to, Lorelai whined.

- If we're leaving tomorrow as we planned, you really do have to.

- But...

- No buts, Rory said, strictly. - I let the coffee issue slide, now it's time you pay the price. Down the road to the right, now _march_.

Even though Lorelai normally couldn't follow directions to save her life, Rory appeared to be the exact opposite. With no wrong turns whatsoever the two quickly found themselves in not an overly big shopping center, but they wouldn't call it small, either. Maybe small in Paris' standard, but definately not small in Stars Hollow and the nearby county's. Once inside, there was no direct route as they, every five minutes was distracted by yet another shop. However, even with the '_wrong turns_', they found the shop they were looking for fairly quickly.

Rory had to use all her persuasion skills to get Lorelai to even enter the shop, however the matter got solved quickly as Lorelai got her eyes on a bright pink '_monster_' of a bag, quickly forgetting her every arguement against getting one. If it was pink and/or sparkly, there was almost nothing Lorelai wouldn't get. Even though Lorelai could see that Rory thought the bag wasn't as '_cute_' as she thought, the teen made no arguement against it as the objective was to get her to buy one.

On their way out of the shop, Lorelai felt Rory poke her shoulder. Her gaze went to where her daughter pointed and she knew at once what it was that had caught Rory's attention. It wasn't an exact replica, but it was close enough to look like one of Luke's shirt, the blue one that he seemed to wear more often than the rest.

- Rory, she sighed.

- It'd be the perfect way to tell him, Rory suggested.

- You've really not learned the concept of space, have you, Lorelai commented.

- I'm sorry, but the whole '_if_' thing made me kinda edgy. Mom, you have to tell him, he deserves to know.

- I know, Lorelai sighed.

- So why the '_if_'? What are you afraid of?

- I wouldn't say afraid.

- Fine, then what are you worried about? I mean, sure Luke'll be shocked, I mean, who wouldn't? But he's always been there for us in the past, so you shouldn't be worried about him bailing, cause you should know better.

- I'm not worried about that. Sure, I'm not exactly looking forward to telling him. It's gonna be awkward and I have no idea where to even start the whole conversation. I really don't think '_hey I'm pregnant, by the way it's yours_' is gonna do the trick.

- Maybe not, Rory agreed. - But we have two months to work on that. Even though the situation isn't exactly simple, it's not really that complicated either.

- It is complicated, because of Nicole, Lorelai said, quietly.

- You can't factor Nicole into this situation, Rory reasoned. - Whatever she feels about you, that shouldn't matter.

- She thinks something's going on between me and Luke and Luke's been telling her for months that nothing's going on and for him, nothing is. But I tell him I'm pregnant and she won't believe him when he says he can't remember it happening. I don't want to be the reason they split up.

- Luke's relationship with Nicole isn't your responsibility. This happened before they started dating, so neither you or Luke has done anything wrong and if their relationship can't handle this, then it wasn't meant to be.

- I know, Lorelai muttered, looking away.

- Mom, Rory asked, worried. - What's wrong?

Lorelai sighed, bit her lip.

- I don't want to be the one breaking them up, she repetated. - Because I want it to be his choice. I want him to choose me.

- Mom, Rory said, surprised. - You _like_ Luke?

- It's stupid, right, Lorelai chuckled. - It should've been so obvious to me. I can't stand it when he has a girlfriend or even if another woman as much as looks at him, interessted. I wake up in his bed and the first thing I do? I bail.

- You got scared, Rory suggested.

- Dead scared, Lorelai admitted. - I can't even remember how long I've known him, I know it hasn't been that many years, but it feels like he's been there forever, looking after us. I know that no matter what, I can always turn to him, he'll listen, even if he thinks it's stupid. He lets me be _me_... and I should've realized this sooner.

- Realized what, Rory asked.

- That I'm in love with him, Lorelai answered.

- You... you what, Rory sputtered. - You pestered me on keeping you out of the loop on _Lane_'s lovelife, yet you kept this a complete secret?

- Hi, my name's _Denial_, Lorelai quipped. - Pleased to meet you.

- Oh, Rory said, quietly. - How long?

- I don't know, Lorelai answered honestly. - I feel like I've been trying to deny it ever since that night, but something in me tells me I've been ignoring it for longer.

Rory remained silent.

- Say something, Lorelai asked.

- I'm kinda waiting for someone to reveal the camera crew and tell me I've been punk'd, Rory admitted.

- 'Cause Ashton Kutcher watches CSPAN, Lorelai joked.

- You never know, Rory shrugged, taking a deep breath. - I don't know, it's _Luke_.

- I have a feeling we're having the whole '_Luke's the dad_' conversation over again.

- Pretty close, Rory agreed. - I think I just need to wrap my mind around this.

- You need a lot of time, Lorelai asked. - 'Cause I could always go for coffee and come back.

Rory chuckled.

- Coffee would be great, she replied, then looked at the miniature Luke-shirt. - But you are going to tell him, right?

Lorelai fell silent for a moment, as she stared at the same thing. She could picture Luke in his blue flannel shirt, holding his kid, wearing the same thing. Casting her eyes over at the headwear section, a tiny blue cap made it into the picture. A smile crept upon her face as she picked the tiny outfit up, feeling the soft material against her fingers.

- Yeah, she said, making her way to the counter, grabbing the blue cap as she passed them. - I am.

TBC


	28. Come on, Barbamama

AN: Ok, wow I was tired hours ago actually, but I just couldn't stop writing, hopefully you guys will appreciate it, cause I stayed up for your sakes... lol

**SmileyGGfan** - YAY, you're back to reviewing and don't worry about the combinding it all in one review, I don't blame you, I blame Ok, something you wrote confused me, I'm not sure if you talked about each chapter sepparately or if it was all overall, cause you said something about loving the dialogue I'd included from the show and I included no dialogue from the show in chapter 24 and the flashback-lines in chapter 25 wasn't a complete copy either. And the rest... well, that was all original stuff... lol I _was_ wondering if you suspected at all, cause your reviews always seemed like you didn't, I'm happy to know that I actually _did_ fool someone. That was my big goal, so you helped me achieve it :P And yeah, there are some simillarities to WHC's Europe chapter, but I hope not too much, cause I really do feel I did many things different, but the basic concept of finding out in Europe, that was planned from the very beginning. I'm glad you're back and I really hope I'll see your name pop up more often from now on, ok? Summer's the time when you're supposed to have more time on your hand, not the other way around.

**ggirlsismylife** - Welcome as a reviewer, yes, of course I'm continueing this story, don't you ever doubt that, but it takes a couple of days to get a chapter done, so have some patience, ok? lol

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - WOW, you wrote in your _previous_ review that it was the longest you've ever written, well you broke, no _smashed_ that record with this one... I sometimes share reviews I love especially much with my beta and this is one of them, so when I was done posting everything to her on MSN, her reply was "give me an hour, so I can read it" ;) Just to say it, that's a _good_ thing. I love your Luke thoughts, but I do think he'd take much longer time to go through it all ;) As for the things you were wondering about, well you'll find out in a couple of chapters ;) I know what you mean about the non-grateful writers. I don't thank everyone of my reviewers, cause there really isn't much to say on those who only give you a one-liner about updating soon, I mean, I appreciate it, but there really isn't a lot to say to them, unless it's a one-liner that either cracks me up or somehow holds a meaning for me. I'd love to get 20 reviews per chapter, maybe as the story progresses more people can feel encouraged to comment. There was another story I wrote many moons ago where some reviews actually inspired me to write things I hadn't thought of before. Sometimes that happens, sometimes a reviewer inspires me. It _could_ happen here as well, even though I have more planned out the turn of events here. Thank you for reviewing, but the "it's an honor" thing weirds me out a little. Not as much as when someone asked for my autograph (what they'd want it for, I have _no_ idea) I'm just a person, just a fan, just like you. Just thought I'd say it.

**Nubes** - Don't worry, I don't drag out a story on purpose if there's nothing to tell, even if it might seem like that for some of you, they'll be back in SH real soon.

**ggpassion** - Lorelai didn't admitt she _loved_ Luke, she admittes she was _in love_ with Luke and this isn't the first time she says it, look back at chapter 19, when she told Sookie.

**flcrkr** - lol, I don't know why the wheely-bag cracks you so much up, but I glad you like it. It'll make another appearance, possibly two, I haven't yet decided. And of course it was pink, it's Lorelai we're talking about.

**purtyinpink71121** - I can't say anything on your spec, but you shouldn't worry too much, have some fait in me.

* * *

Even though she and Rory had said this trip was going to be an impulse trip, Lorelai knew for a fact that Rory had an intinerary hidden in the side pocket of her backpack, together with maps, travel brochures, hostel brochures and whatnots. She hadn't seen it, she didn't have to to know it was there. Her kid was too much of an organizer to completely let go of control. But even with Rory's attempt to keep to the schedual she skillfully kept herself from mentioning, the trip was shaping up to be a very 'on the whim' vacation. First when she and Rory had run into the group of U2 fans in London, who were planning to stake out the Clarence Hotel in Dublin. Just two hours after meeting the girls, they found themselves on a train, heading for Ireland.

The second time had been when they were staying in Copenhagen and Lorelai had found a brochure in their room, left behind by whoever'd stayed there before them, for the Astrid Lindgren museum in Vimmerby. _Intervention by the higher powers_, Lorelai had called it and was nothing short of appalled on their forgetting to put visiting the 'mother of _Pippi Longstocking_' on their list of _must see_ sights. At the museum gift shop, Lorelai ended up purchasing a copy of _Pippi_ in it's original Swedish form, despite Rory reminding her over and over again that no one they knew would ever be able to read it. If Rory hadn't been there to stop her, she'd most likely have bought the film, or television show, as it turned out to be, in Swedish as well.

Now, it had been proven a third time, as they were travelling up the coast of Italy. Having travelled more or less directly through Eastern Europe to get to Istanbul and Fez, the Gilmore's had managed to catch up with their original schedual. This meant skipping visiting Dracula's castle, much to Lorelai's objection. However, striking Transylvania and a couple of less important spots off their list, it abled them to take on Southern Europe as planned and hit Rome just in time to see and touch the pope, or more accurately the pope's _car_. They had just left Rome that morning, completely according to the original plan and was on their way to Milan, from which they planned to take on Spain and southern France before heading home, when their train made a ten minute stop in an old, small Italian town, Arma Di Taggia.

Closing in on the end of her second trimester, Lorelai had gotten a sudden, strong craving for pizza and despite Rory's many attempts to reason with her on there being plenty of pizza places waiting for them in Milan, Lorelai hadn't listenend. And by the time the train left the station, the Gilmore's were walking the promenade by the beach, prowling for pizza.

They would've left the day after, but the hectic schedual they'd been keeping since leaving Paris had finally caught up with them, leaving them completely drained of energy. That day was probably the first time they both had slept during the siesta instead of wandering the historical sights. In the afternoon they had just relaxed as well, eaten, pizza of course, then in the evening they had wandered the beach, barefooted, in the shallow waves, carrying their shoes in their hands. Rory had suggested swimming, but Lorelai had vowed to herself not to get into a bathing suit until the pregnancy weight was gone. However wading was fine by her.

They would've left the day after, but Rory had found a pamplet for the older part of town, Taggia. Apparently Arma was the new part and Taggia was the old. So they wandered the old town before the siesta, looking at the old houses. Rory read out loud from the pamplet on how the inhabitants had built their houses to protect themselves, how the stairwells they saw today didn't exist back then and people simply used ladders they could pull up in case of pirates. The afternoon was just as lazy as the one the day before and when the evening came, they once again waded in the shallow waves.

Today, however they were leaving, only it wasn't until the evening, so after putting their luggage in storage at the hostel, they were wandering the stores on the promenade, which mainly sold two things: souvenirs and postcards.

- Ok, Lorelai said, browsing the t-shirt rack. - Who do we have left?

- Well, there's Miss Patty, Babette and Jackson, Rory listed up.

- We got something for Sookie, already?

- The '_Lady and the Tramp_' onesie that you got in Paris.

- Oh yeah, that one was adorable.

- Then the subway shirt in London, the shamrock hat in Dublin, the _Pippi_ dress in Sweden.

- With matching orange and green booties, Lorelai grinned. - Come on, you have to admitt those were cute.

- And about a dousin more baby clothes, Rory pointed out.

- Well, Lorelai shrugged.

- You found something, haven't you, Rory sighed.

Lorelai held up a tiny, pink, frilly dress she'd found with an illustration of a princess on it with the word '_bellissima_' written underneath. She was rubbish in Italian, but even she knew the word meant something like 'cute' or 'cutest'.

- Has it occurred to you that she might have a boy, Rory asked.

- Hey, I've picked out some gender neutral ones, Lorelai defended.

- About a third of it, the rest have been all girl's clothes.

- I can't help that girl's clothes are cuter, Lorelai shrugged. - Besides, Jackson wants four in four, odds are one of them will be a girl.

- Fine, Rory sighed. - But can we at least divide the clothes and maybe give Jackson the gender neutral ones and Sookie the rest? I'd like to at least cross one name off the list today.

- Done, Lorelai replied. - Okay, who's next, Patty?

- Oh wait, Luke, I forgot Luke.

- We haven't found _anything_ yet, Lorelai asked.

- No, we've been putting it off, since nothing felt right, remember?

- Oh yeah, Lorelai sighed. - Man, he's like the most difficult person to shop for. How is it we've managed to find something for both mom and dad, the most picky people I know and I'm completely blank when it comes to Luke?

- We could get him another cap, Rory shrugged.

- I already gave him a cap, Lorelai pointed out.

- Right.

Lorelai continued browsing the t-shirt rack, then the one next to it. Then she saw one item that made her smile.

- Hey, what about giving him this, she asked, holding it up.

- Mom, you can't be serious.

- What? It's fun. There's no scenario in my mind where he won't laugh.

- You can not give him a pair of Italian flag boxer shorts, that alone is tacky enough, the picture of the penis in front of it puts it on a level of tackiness even Anna Nicole Smith marvels at.

- But...

- Find something else, Rory ordered.

- There's _nothing_ here, Lorelai exclaimed. - Nothing good enough. It's all refrigerator magnets, shot glasses, t-shirts, boxers and ties.

- Well, Rory shrugged. - We can always hope we'll have better luck in Spain.

- Yeah, Lorelai sighed, looking at the boxer she still was holding. - So... Miss Patty?

- Who's she gonna put those on?

- Taylor, Lorelai suggested.

- Ew, gross mom, Rory exclaimed. - I'm never gonna get that image out of my mind.

- Or maybe I'll give'em to Babette for Morey to use, Lorelai giggled.

- Please stop, I have to see these people and I _like_ being able to look them in the eye.

- Oh, I have one more, Lorelai giggled. - _Kirk_.

- Fine, Rory replied with a smirk. - He'll read something into it. So he'll ask you out again and since _you_ lead him on, this time you'll have to say yes. He makes you tuna, then dessert comes and there's no cake in sight, just Kirk slowly taking off his shirt, his pants...

- _Gyah_, Lorelai shuddered. - See, that's not fair, I didn't use details.

- Fight evil with evil, Rory shrugged.

- This is just getting vicious, Lorelai pointed out.

- Heading that way, Rory agreed.

- Truce? I'll buy you coffee.

- Are you trying to bribe me?

- Is it working?

- I could go for coffee, Rory nodded.

- Good, cause I've really got to sit down now, Lorelai said, shifting from foot to foot.

- We _can_ just go straight for the café, Rory suggested. - You don't have to buy that dress.

- But it's cute, Lorelai pointed out.

- Knowing you, you'll find something equally cute in Spain and in France, Rory replied, dryly.

Her feet aching, Lorelai only gave the dress one longing look, before putting it back where she found it. The café only being two stores down, even in Lorelai's semi-limping tempo, it took them less than two minutes to get there. She wanted nothing more than to just plop onto the chair, unfortunately the pregnancy prevented her from doing so.

- _Omph_, Lorelai groaned, as she finally got to sit down.

- Mom, Rory asked, concerned.

- These pants are really tight, Lorelai complained. - I can't even sit up straight.

- Of course they are, Rory calmly pointed out. - It was bound to happen. The baby needs room to grow.

- But these are stretch, Lorelai pouted.

- You can't put it off, you need maternity clothes. We should've gotten you some weeks ago.

- But my pants fit back then.

- Yeah and now they don't. If you sit like that for a couple of more days, you're gonna have back problems long before the extra weight does it.

- Fine, Lorelai sighed. - We'll go shopping, but right now my feet are killing me, so I have to sit for a while.

- I'll get us coffee.

- Angel, Lorelai smiled.

Rory quickly returned with two big cups of coffee.

- No cheese this time, Lorelai teased.

- Can you let it go? It was _one_ time, Rory groaned.

- I can't believe you actually ate it, Lorelai giggled.

- I didn't want to be one of those rude Americans who complains about everything.

- I still can't believe you ate it.

- What is this, 'pick on Rory' day or something?

- Come on, I haven't even mentioned the fireworks thing, yet.

- You're mean, you know that?

- You thought it was a bomb, Lorelai teased.

- I did _not_.

- You thought it was a bomb, Lorelai repeated.

- Yes, allright, but can you blame me? With the noise and the sirens? You can't say the sirens didn't freak you out, too.

- Allright, the sirens did it a little, but _you_, my friend were still freaked after we found out it was just fireworks. You wouldn't even come out and see them.

- And apparently I'm never gonna live that one down.

- Don't worry, I'll probably have moved on to a new story in a couple of months.

- Oh goody, Rory said, dryly.

Turning her chair more away from her mom, Rory pulled out a card and a pen from one of her bags and started to write, pausing every now and then to take a sip of her coffee.

- Who're you writing to, Lorelai asked.

- Grandma and Grandpa, Rory shrugged.

- Again? This is what, the fourth card you're sending?

- Fifth.

- Ok, so what are you writing?

- Just things, Rory shrugged. - The places we've been, the sights we've seen.

- Hey a rhyme, Lorelai joked. - Well, that's good that you're writing them. Hey, I know, write '_mom got herself knocked up_' on it. I dare you.

- No.

- Come on, Lorelai pleaded. - What better way to tell them than to send the message home with the pope.

- The pope's not even on it, Rory pointed out.

- Well get another one, or better yet, get one with the Virgin Mary on it.

- I'm _not_ doing your dirty work for you.

- You don't have to give them any details, just leave it as a side-note.

- I'm not telling Grandma and Grandpa with a card, I'm not gonna tell them over the phone, in fact, _I'm_ not gonna tell them at all. _You_ are. When we get home, you are gonna go and tell them yourself.

- But they won't be mad at you.., Lorelai pouted.

- For announcing my baby brother or sister's existance on a postcard. I think they would.

- I don't want to tell them, Lorelai whined.

- But you have to, Rory told her. - Unless you're planning to avoid all contact with them for the entire last trimester. Because there's no way they won't see it. And after that you'll have the baby and if you wait for that they'll be mad at you for keeping it secret.

- Why didn't I just phone them when I found out in Paris, Lorelai groaned.

- Because then Grandma would lecture you on how inconsiderate telling someone over the phone is, Rory remarked.

- I really can't win this, can I, Lorelai sighed.

- Remember how Grandma reacted when she found out about your engagement with Mr. Medina from Sookie, Rory pointed out. - Do you really want that to happen again?

- Allright, Lorelai sighed. - I'll tell her. But mark my words, it's gonna be hell.

- Isn't it always?

Lorelai closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, just as she was opening them again, a falling sensation rushed over her as she slipped over the edge of her chair, ending up on the ground.

- _Ow_, she said in a mixture of a groan and laughter.

- Mom, are you allright?

Rory's question drowned in a fit of laughter caused by the comedic moment of seeing her mother all of a sudden disappearing under the table.

- Great, Lorelai groaned, rubbing her back. - I'm in pain and all you're doing is laughing at me.

- If you'd listened to me in the first place and gone maternity clothes shopping when I first suggested it, you wouldn't've been sitting like this, which means you wouldn't've fallen off your chair and you wouldn't be in pain right now. So, really, you brought this on yourself.

- How compassionate of you, Lorelai said, sarcastically. - Now, help me up?

- Come on _Barbamama_, Rory chuckled, grabbing her hand. - Time to get you some bigger pants.

- You really are sweet today, you know, Lorelai said, rolling her eyes.

- Yup, Rory nodded.

- By the way, Barbamama doesn't have legs, Lorelai pointed out as they made their way towards the nearest shopping center.

It took them an hour to even find a store that held maternity clothes and when they finally entered it, the clerk turned out to barely speak English at all. Every other word she said was Italian, at least and she talked even faster than any of the two Gilmores. Which was why they both merely stood still as the woman rambled on. For Lorelai it felt like she was trying to communicate with a guy, only the woman's eyes wasn't on her breasts, but on her stomach. For ten minutes Lorelai actually wished she was talking to a perverted guy as the woman was more 'hands on' than any guy she'd ever met.

- The two worst things with getting pregnant, she told Rory, as the clerk had moved on to another pregnant customer entering the store. - Morning sickness and the way strangers think it's perfectly allright to rub my stomach.

With the other customer being there to distract the woman from bothering them too much, they managed to make it through the shopping. _Without casualties_, as Lorelai had remarked on their way out. Having had enough of the pants that, despite being stretch, had been too tight, she'd changed in a bathroom booth at the center. Not completely without difficulties, she discovered, as the booth turned out to be really tiny. But somehow, she wasn't sure how, she'd managed. It was refreshing getting to feel a pair of pants actually being kind of big for her, for however long _that_ would last.

Which, if she was to judge from the rumbles in her tummy, wouldn't last that long.

Heading back from the store took less time, but it still forced them to hit the hostel first to pick up their luggage. By the time they finally had the pizza place in sight, the hunger had gotten Lorelai in a grumpy mood. With there obviously being no customers inside at that moment, it seemed like the entire staff of servers were standing in line by the doorway. As the two Gilmore's were spotted, approaching the place, the nearest waiter seemed to recognize them.

- _Take-away_, he told the waiter behind him.

- Wow, Lorelai remarked. - We're regulars.

- We've been here six times in the last two days, Rory pointed out.

- _Take-away_, the second waiter told the third, who again told the fourth.

- Good point, Lorelai replied.

As the message had reached the end of the line, with the sixth waiter telling the seventh, the seventh held up an open take-away menu as he backed slowly into the restaurant with them following.

- Such service, Lorelai grinned, as she picked out her pizza.

While watching their pizzas being made, Lorelai turned her head towards her kid.

- You know, I'm really gonna miss this place.

TBC


	29. Willard, the wheely bag

AN: To whoever it is calling themselves all sorts of variations of "anonymous", seriously, have the guts to put your name down, it's not like I'll know who you are anyways, but if you're only gonna critisize me, then at least do that. I like critisism, I welcome all to write their opinions, but I prefer to get critisism of "what" I write and not "how" I write. The format isn't gonna change, so stop beating the dead horse, it's starting to smell.

AN 2: Just a tiny notice, if you're reading the shoutout to someone else, keep in mind I don't make much transition between the things I respond to, so unless you are the reviewer him/herself, it's probably wise to look it up, for it to make any sort of sense... lol Otherwise it might sound like I'm saying something completely different than what I am... if that makes sense...

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - LOL, thank you for correcting that "honor" thing, it wasn't that I was really creped out, I just thought I'd mention it. Have I been to Europe? Well I'm from Norway (one of the Scandinavian countries), so that would be a yes. But I've travelled many places _in_ Europe whilst growing up (Romania x2, Bulgaria, Turkey, Italy x2, The Vatican, France, Monaco, Cyprus, Greece, Portugal, Spain). I was about 12 years old, I think, when we were in Arma Di Taggia. Our hotelroom had a view to the train station Lorelai and Rory got off at, the promenade and the beach was just one block away. The pizzaplace is a real place, me and my family bought pizza from there all the time and the one time my parents sent me to go get the pizza by myself, the whole staff _was_ actually lined up that way, acting that way. The part about the old town is true and is probably one of the few historical things I still remember. Even the fireworks story is real. The first night after we had arrived, the guide had forgotten to tell us that the town had a celebration that day, so when we heard a loud bang, follwed by a police siren. Since other hotels were blocking our view to the beach it took us a while before we actually saw that it was just fireworks. I can honestly say I'd never been so freaked before in my entire life. About Lorelai's many purchases of baby clothes it has a connection to her pregnancy, the hormones and the growing maternal instincts. In many ways she's _also_ buying them for herself, if that makes sense. Don't worry about restraining yourself, I have plenty of time to both write fics and read reviews and if I don't, then I make time. Don't worry about suggesting, I have it pretty much under control, I get suggestions/threats with every chapter, lol. And I enjoy all kinds. I can't wait to hear more of your predictions, they are fun to read. Some of the ones I get are spot on, others couldn't be further from the truth. Once again I'll tell you, you'll know soon enough. Yeah, the reactions are gonna be fun, I can't wait to write them down.

**purtyinpink71121** - Don't worry about going off subject, a good ramble is always great to read. About Luke also waking up naked, which someone else actually pointed out in one of the really early chapters and I gave an answer to it there, for Luke the idea of sleeping with Lorelai is at this point too unreal for him to imagine. So although he was confused, hung over and his memory being very fuzzy when he woke up, he woke up alone, still in his own bed. Put yourself in his position, would your first thought be "I slept with Lorelai" when Lorelai is nowhere to be seen? I don't think that'd be what I'd thought. You might disagree with me there, but at least, that's my answer. For Lorelai it was different, because; 1) She woke up in his bed, not her own, 2) She woke up with him beside her and most importantly 3) She's now pregnant.

**Caffenation** - I think you missunderstood when you read my shoutout to smiley in the previous chapter, the "fooling her" bit had nothing to do with the dialogue thing, but her not suspecting Lorelai being pregnant at all. About the dialogue, most of the dialogue you see in this fic is completely my own, however there are the occational chapters where I have to include some of the show dialogue because the scene requires it. It happens, I've had reviewers complaining when I do, but sometimes it's just nessesary.

* * *

She'd always been more or less a light sleeper, which with her mother being who she was, was a very unfortunate thing. If she'd gotten a nickle for every time Lorelai had woken her to ask her something, to talk about something, she'd be a very rich girl. Those usually earned her mother a couple of deadly stares, but the worst were the ones where Lorelai woke her up for no reason other than her own lacking ability to go to sleep. Many a time had Rory found herself lying wide awake long after her mother fell asleep, trying to plot out the perfect vengeance. If the world wasn't cruel enough as it was, her mother had turned out to be quite the heavy sleeper, or at least in comparisson to Rory, so waking her up in return would always be out of the question.

Feeling the familliarity of her mother gently shaking her shoulder, Rory believed this occasion to be one of the last kind and refused to even acknowledge her mother's existance at this point. Lorelai being who she was, didn't stop and shook her a little firmer.

- Rory, she whispered.

Groaning, Rory turned in her bed, away from her mother, hoping against hope Lorelai would get a clue and just leave her be. She didn't know what time it was as she knew the minute she opened her eyes, her mother would for sure not leave her alone. The way her head was now aching from the abrupted sleep and how she could've sworn it was just five minutes since she last closed her eyes, it didn't take a genius to figure out it was at some ungodly hour in the middle of the night.

- Rory, Lorelai again whispered.

- No, Rory groaned, her voice muffled as she at this point lay on her pillow face down.

- Honey, wake up, Lorelai pleaded.

- No, no waking.

- Come on, Lorelai said, more incessantly. - You're missing it.

- No, no missing, Rory groaned, pulling the sheet over her head in pure spite.

- The baby's kicking, Lorelai told her.

Being already involuntarily awake, upon hearing this, Rory immediately opened her eyes and sat up.

- W-what, she asked. - W-when?

- I think it's been doing it for a while, but it only woke me up half an hour ago, Lorelai said. - Wanna feel it?

- Oh, I dunno, Rory replied, reluctantly.

Although she was excited to become a big sister... again, the whole idea of _feeling_ the baby kind of freaked her out. Not being easily scared, the two of them had seen many horror films in their day, usually while making fun of it. It had been a tradition in the Crap Shack ever since they moved in. Come to think of it, they had initiated it with a classic horror marathon. But after seeing Alien for the first time at too young an age, she'd been haunted for weeks and weeks by various nightmares of creatures growing inside her. Since then she'd found the whole aspect of pregnancy and birth a bit creepy. It was why she had panicked and called her mom when Sherry had told the nurse she'd be coming into the delivery room with her. And now for the same reason she just didn't want to be touching her mother's pregnant stomach anytime soon.

- It won't bite, Lorelai reasoned with her.

- I know that, Rory defended herself, feeling embarassed. - It's just... freaky.

Rory wondered if it would ever go away, this irrational fear of hers, when it would be time for herself to have kids. Because she saw herself having kids, one day, far, _far_ into the future. She hoped it would, because she liked the idea of someday in a distant future, having something be part hers and part someone she loved, maybe Jess, maybe someone else. If not, then well... she could always adopt.

- It _is_ freaky, Lorelai pointed out. - All this time we know it's there, but then to suddenly feel it... It's freaky, but in this really amazing way.

She grabbed Rory's hand before there could be any objections and placed it flat on the underside of her rounded stomach, holding it there. Minutes passed and nothing happened.

- Are you sure you didn't just dream it, Rory finally asked, knowing her mother's dreams to be of a vivid kind.

- Wait for it, Lorelai told her, refusing to let go her hand.

They waited a couple of more minutes. Rory feared that she'd be sitting the whole night with her hand on her mother's stomach, then she finally felt it. Something inside gently pushed against her hand. Somehow, that wasn't exactly what she'd expected. For some reason she'd thought there would be more of a snap to it, like the way a baby kicked in thin air, if you held it up in the air. But this... she'd barely felt it. She suspected her mother would say differently, feeling the whole thing from the inside.

- You feel that, Lorelai halfway asked, halfway stated.

Rory nodded, as Lorelai let go, no longer keeping her hand prisoner. She was stuck between wanting to pull her hand to herself, the whole ordeal still freaking her out and her curious nature urging her to stay put to see if her baby brother or sister would kick again.

- And to think, nineteen years ago that was you, Lorelai whispered, putting her arm around her shoulders, kissing her temple.

- What does it feel like, Rory asked, hand still put, her curious side winning.

- Exactly what it looks like, Lorelai chuckled. - Tiny hands and feet stretching my tummy out from the inside, trying to get out.

They waited for ten more minutes, but nothing happened.

- Maybe it's sleeping, Rory suggested.

- Typical, Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. - Waking me up in the middle of the night, only to kick a couple of times before falling asleep.

- Well, now you know what _that_ feels like, Rory smirked.

- How very compassionate of you, Lorelai said, sarcastically.

- I'm just a strong believer in 'what goes around, comes around'.

Yawning, Rory rolled over on her side, facing away from her mom.

- You're not even gonna keep me company, Lorelai asked.

- Nope.

- Mean!

- You made your bed, now you must lie in it.

- There's just no sympathy coming from you whatsoever, Lorelai pouted.

- Sorry, I guess I must've lost it one of the _many_ times _you_ woke me up for selfish reasons.

When Lorelai fell silent, Rory took it as a good sign and closed her eyes, trying to get back to sleep. Just as she felt herself drifting, her mother was once again up by her bed.

- Rory, she whispered. - You've gotta help me get Willard.

- Mom, no, Rory groaned. - I'm not getting out of this bed. You can get him tomorrow.

- I need to document this moment.

- You can do that tomorrow, Rory pointed out.

- It won't be the same.

Knowing Lorelai had immense stamina when it came to getting her way, Rory sighed and got out of the bed. With her mother rapidly closing in on the end of her second trimester, Rory had forbidden her to do any sort of heavy lifting, which was the reason she was now being dragged out of her bed. Walking over to the lockers, Rory pulled the key out of her pajama pocket, unlocking the padlock, pulling the monstrous wheely-bag out for her mom. She took a seat on the empty bed by the lockers, as Lorelai found her permanent marker and jotted down the event.

- I can't believe you named it '_Willard_', Rory remarked.

- What, it's like the perfect name for him, Lorelai objected.

- _He_ is _pink_, Rory pointed out.

- Boys can be pink.

- Name one.

- Allright. But come on, say it; '_Willard the wheely-bag_'. Even you have to admitt that has a nice ring to it.

- You're nuts, Rory remarked, shaking her head.

- The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, Lorelai reminded her.

- Somehow I don't see my way future self jotting down every event in my pregnancy on a bag.

- If Anne Frank can write in _'Kitty'_, I can write on _'Willard'_.

- She didn't write _in_ Kitty, she wrote _to_ Kitty, like letters to an imaginary friend, Rory pointed out.

- First entry she specified that she was naming the thing Kitty.

- Allright, but Kitty was a diary, a book. People write in books, they do not write on their luggage.

- Hello, _Memento_, guy tattoos everything he knows onto his own body.

- Fiction, Rory pointed out. - Not reality.

- Since when has that mattered for _any_ of our arguements?

- Good point, Rory nodded. - But _you_ still would've remembered everything in the morning.

- Since when have I been known to have photographic memory? I'm documenting important events here and I don't wanna forget any details.

- Since when did '_getting asked out by cute man in Rome_' qualify as an important event?

- Since it means that even when pregnant, mommy's still being desired.

TBC


	30. They are back!

AN: Shoutouts says it all... 

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - I agree with you very much, only Lorelai would do that. Yeah I feel sorry for Rory when she has to put up with her mom's annoying quirks, just like I feel sorry for the people putting up with mine, but it's the way I am and I can't change it, just as Lorelai can't change hers. You have to love the whole package. The travel plans sounds great, I've never been to the Louvre, but I doubt it's my kind of thing. I'd much more want to go to Disneyland, despite the long queues. But right now my favourite things to travel to are conventions. I live for conventions, going on the next one in September and I simply can't wait. I've never been pregnant, but I felt my niece kick when my sister was pregnant with her a few years back, which was my big reason for having that chapter go through Rory's eyes, cause _that_ I know what feels like. It's not as much a kick as a push. You feel a foot pushing against your hand. It's pretty amazing. And yeah, I wanted to explore the reason Rory's so freaked out about pregnancy, cause to my recollection Rory's been uneasy about that three times in the show; Sherry (3x13), Sookie (4x01) and Sookie again (5x21). And my mom and my best pal was talking about Alien a couple of days ago and suddenly it made sense. The fireworks thing _was_ scary, my whole family was freaked at first, not just me. Never read Anne Frank's Diary, but I've seen the movie (had to in school), as for Italian guys, I was so young when I was there, so I dunno how romantic they are, they are however very flirtatious in Greece (where I was when I was fifteen). As for how long they've been there, I have no dates in my head about that, she's however in chapter 28-29 closing in on six months and the end of the trip. 

**lukelover87** - Thank you for giving me reviews for each individual chapter from beginning to "end" (we all know we're far from that right now). If she'd stayed, this story would've turned out very different, not nessesarily for the better as we all know Luke and Lorelai need time to process, springing this night on them both and starting a rushed relationship could've ruined things more than improving them. And yes, for those who hasn't already realized, I'm letting outside forces do their thing, because those are not under my control and I want to keep this story realistic as well as getting what I want (sometimes you just have to take a longer route), it's fun though, makes it challenging and more fun to write. I agree with you on Mia, I loved her and they only brought her in once, broke my heart that they didn't bring her in again, especially when they established how much she meant to Lorelai and how much Lorelai meant to her. If I can manage I will bring her back myself. 

**purtyinpink71121** - Squee, wow, I _love_ inspiring you guys to break records. So the "two dollar whore"'s right back at ya ;) Yeah it was shorter, I think it's the closest I've gotten to my "average" chapter length since I started writing longer ones... lol. Love the revenge that you didn't do ;) My sisters have never done anything like that to me, however they love the idea of _raising_ me. Seriously, I'm twenty-two years old now and I've been living on my own since I was sixteen (with the exception of one year, where I lived at home, working, but that was to get it out of my system before college), it's time they realize that I _am_ raised (well one of them has said to me she's gonna stop and focus on her own kids now, but I have a feeling the other is gonna continue for the rest of my life). lol, on your theory. Lorelai stopped trying to bring it up when the realized that 1) he didn't know and 2) he was going out on a date. Sorry to disappoint you, but the take-away pizza place was in Arma Di Taggia, not in Rome, so the idea doesn't hold up, sorry. 

**flcrkr** - Wow, seems like more and more people are breaking records in reviewing. LOVE IT! lol, yeah, I grew up with Pippi as a television show I still can't believe they made it into just a movie for you guys, you're missing out. And I figured the minute Lorelai found that out she'd want the original thing, despite it being in Swedish, not English. I have no idea why there were sirens along with the fireworks, but there was and it freaked me out... lol I LOVE the t-shirt idea of yours, Lorelai _needs_ one of those if she's gonna take on the SH townies. As for "what goes around, comes around", if you think of it this way: Lorelai wakes Rory up all the time for selfish reasons. - Rory called Lorelai to come to the hospital because of her fear. - The hospital trip is what triggures tequila night. - Tequila night is when Lorelai gets pregnant. - The baby's now keeping Lorelai up. - _It just came around..._ I love that the wheely-bag thing cracks you up, it's always funny when someone gets caught up in some little detail... lol 

**smileyGGfan** - Smiiiiley :) Thanks for going back and reviewing :) That's really sweet of you. And once again thank you for letting me know I at least fooled one reader. I hope you'll be less busy than you were this summer, cause although I love all my novelist reviewers to death, you were my first (ok... that sounded kinda bad... lol). You were the one who began believing in me before the rest followed (that sounded better... lol). So it makes you special (but please don't think you can start scrimping on the reviews ;) cause then I'd have to reconsider... ;) lol). Wish I had more to say, but I think I've responded to everything in one or more of the other shoutouts... lol

* * *

Lorelai was pretty certain she had never before in her entire life been so happy to see New York as she was when she and Rory landed there late Tuesday night, a couple of days past their intended arrival. If her pregnant stomach hadn't been an obsticle, she was sure she'd throw herself down and kiss the ground. That was how happy she was to be returning home after having been away for so long. That was saying a lot on how homesick she'd actually gotten towards the end of their trip. Not to say the last few stops hadn't been fun, they had, but with the pregnancy starting to have it's toll on her, Lorelai was happy to finally return to the still crazy, but in a way, less exhausting town. There would be no more hours upon hours of walking at the warmest time of day, also known as the siesta, the time when the more sane people closed up their shops and went home to rest. There would be no more carrying, or in Lorelai's case, dragging all her belongings with her. Even better, there would be no more pillows smelling like feet, no more digging into a bag, trying to find the lesser gross clothes to wear, or well... until the next laundry day came about. 

And hopefully coming home would decrease the level of Rory's overprotectiveness. Her daughter had barely allowed her to drag Willard with her on the smooth airport tiles and the only reason she stopped objecting was that she herself was also carrying Lorelai's backpack, containing the things they couldn't fit in hers as well as a couple of last minute airport purchases and the one attempt she'd made at pulling Willard as well had resulted in her tipping over sideways. She still didn't allow Lorelai to do any lifting and the minute they reached someone that could take over, she insisted they did. First the people at the check-in counter, then the van driver. 

In many ways, the van ride to Stars Hollow seemed longer than the seven hour long plane ride they'd just taken. Being already pretty groggy, not to mention sleepy they were already in a foul mood, but as the driver appeared to be taking his time on the road, their moods didn't exactly improve. Despite all this, spotting the '_Welcome to Stars Hollow_' sign as they passed it made it almost impossible not to smile and nudge the other in the others side. Even better was the sight of the Crap Shack as they rounded the corner of their road. If it hadn't been for the lights coming from Babette's house, one would've almost've found it looking lonely. 

The lights triggered a thought. 

- Rory, Lorelai said. - If anyone asks, you don't know. 

- Know what? 

- The baby, if anyone asks you, you don't know a thing. 

- Mom, you're kinda showing too much for that one. 

- No, I know, I didn't mean that. I meant if Babette or, God help me, Miss Patty starts asking you questions about the whole thing, and you know they will, say you don't know a thing. 

- Mom, you've already pointed out that I'm a crappy liar. 

- Which is why I'm telling you to do this. If you let them know a single detail, they won't leave you alone until you spill the whole story. If anyone asks, and I mean anyone, you can't tell a single soul, so no matter who asks you, tell them you've tried asking me, but I'm not saying a thing. 

- I don't think they're gonna buy it, Rory pointed out. - Everyone knows we tell each other everything. 

- If they don't believe you, we can stage an arguement about it in the middle of town. I just want to leave you out of this. But you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone anything. Not the townies, not Sookie, nor Lane. Not even my parents can know you have any idea about this except the obvious; mommy's pregnant. 

- I can't even tell Lane? 

- No, honey, you can't. You know I love Lane and I trust her more than I trust myself at times, but I'm not even telling Sookie. I can't risk a slip-up reaching Luke before I can tell him myself. It's gonna be bad enough with the town gossip as it is without the whole town actually marching into the diner, asking about his intentions. I want to give him time to digest this on his own. Luke deserves that. 

- You are telling him, right? 

- Tomorrow, Lorelai confirmed. 

- You've decided on how? 

- I have no idea, Lorelai sighed. - But somehow I will and depending on how much explaining I'll have to do, don't expect me home that early. 

- That's okay, Rory replied, getting out of the van. - I'll make the gift rounds while you talk to him, get it all out of our way before the big week. 

- Lets hit Sookie's first, Lorelai said, following her. - She said she'd have an ultrasound by the time we were back and I can't wait to find out what she's having. I bet it's a girl. 

- Of course _you_ do. You wouldn't've bought her a load of girl clothes otherwise. 

- So you think it's a boy? 

- I just think you could've made it fifty-fifty. 

- Well I have a pretty good feeling about a girl and if not, well, then I could always use them. 

- And you're so sure yours is a girl? 

- Of course, girls run in the Gilmore family. 

- You can't say girls run in the family. It's geneticly impossible to have a specific gender run in the family. 

- Of course I can. You're a Gilmore girl, I'm a Gilmore girl... 

- But grandma's not geneticly a Gilmore, grandpa is. It's not like a trait or a disease that can be passed on to the next generation. Besides, technically the men are responsible for the sex, so if you're to guess from the family history, you have to look into Luke's and not your own. 

- Well, I still think it's a girl. 

- I'm not saying it's one or the other. You'll find out soon enough, right? When are you getting an appointment? 

- I'm calling the doctor first thing in the morning, Lorelai confirmed. - I'm hoping they can squeeze me in before I'm _abandoned_ by my firstborn. 

- If you'd just let me sleep at night I might've felt bad about it, Rory remarked. 

The driver pulled the wheely-bag out of the trunk and placed it next to where Rory had dumped both the backpacks and drove off. Rory stared back and forth between the luggage and the grass, looking at the luggage as if it was Mount Everest. 

- I guess I'll do two loads, she sighed. 

- Oh, come on, I can handle a whole thirty feet, Lorelai pointed out, finding the whole overprotectiveness a tad too much. 

- You're not carrying, Rory stated, determinedly. 

- _You're back! You're back_, Babette shouted from her house, just as Lorelai was about to object. 

- Shit, there's Babette, Lorelai whispered. - Remember, until Luke's gotten his head around this whole thing, you don't know anything. 

- Got it, Rory whispered back. 

- Oh my God, you're back! _Morey_, they're back! Are you allright? Are you hurt? Are you bleeding? 

Babette looked between the two, franticly as if she was expecting bandages and bruises. 

- We're fine, Babette, Lorelai answered, slightly confused. 

- You're fine? They're fine! Morey, Babette shouted, looking back towards the house. 

- Yeah, Morey answered, sticking his head out the door. 

- They're fine, Babette shouted, her gaze turning to Lorelai, more precisely her stomach. - ...and Lorelai's pregnant! 

It was one of those moments where real life almost became a cartoon. At least to someone with a vivid enough imagination, like Lorelai. To her it seemed like a miracle that Babette's eyes stayed within their given sockets. 

- Oh my _God_, Lorelai, she exclaimed. - When did this happen? Whose is it? Was it in Europe? Did you fall for one of those slimy European guys we're always hearing about, who flirts with young women just to get them in the sack? Did he break your heart? Oh my God, you poor thing! How are you holding up? 

- Whoa, Babette, easy there, Lorelai laughed. - Don't worry so much. Sure, my feet are aching and the kid keeps kicking my bladder, but other than needing a bathroom break real soon, I'm fine. 

- I can't help but worry. You girls were supposed to have been here on Saturday, it says so on your itinerary right... oh where did I put that thing..? _Morey_! 

- Yeah, Morey answered, popping his head out the door. 

- Do you know where we put the itinerary? 

- No, he answered, closing the door behind him. 

- Itinerary, Lorelai asked, casting a suspicious glance to her left. 

- I may have given her one, Rory shrugged. 

- Who else, Lorelai asked, narrowing her eyes. 

- No one, Rory answered, not meeting her gaze. - ...except Sookie, Lane, grandma... 

- There, Babette said, fishing a piece of paper from her back pocket and unfolding it. - It says so right here. '_Return: Saturday the twenty-seventh_'. So you can imagine when we didn't see you girls coming home that day. We panicked! _Morey!_

- Yeah, Morey replied, from the doorway. 

- Didn't we panic? 

- Yeah, he replied, closing the door behind him once again. 

- Hey, Morey, you ever thought about just staying out here at times like these, Lorelai asked. 

- So you can imagine when Sunday came and went and I didn't see you girls. You should've just seen me, I was a complete basketcase. I thought you'd been kidnapped or something, oh and what if something'd happened with the baby... 

- Five minutes, Lorelai whispered to Rory. - ...and she's already imagining things... 

- So, finally, Babette continued. - I just started calling consulates. 

- Consulates, Rory asked. 

- How many consulates are we talking here, Lorelai asked. 

- Ah, geez, all of 'em, Babette sighed. - Anyhow, you're back, you're safe. Lets get you two settled in, I want to hear all about Europe. _Morey_! 

- Yeah, Morey replied from the door. 

- Come and help carry these bags! 

- No, Babette, Lorelai said. - You really don't have to. 

- Nonesense, Babette replied. - You're not having that poor girl carry it all and I don't even wanna _hear_ about you doing any lifting, missy. A woman in your condition... 

- Hey Morey, Rory said as the man picked up one of the backpacks as well as Willard. 

- Thanks for doing this, Lorelai added, with an apologetic smile. 

- Yeah, he replied in his special way. 

- What's all these scribbles on the bag, Babette asked. 

- Oh, since finding out I was pregnant, I used it to document everything about the baby. 

- '_Cute guy in Rome asking you out_', huh, Babette pointed out. - Good for you, doll. 

- See, Lorelai told her daughter. - Told you it was important. 

- So tell me, Babette said as they reached the kitchen. - What'd you do? What'd you see? 

- Nothing, we lied on the beach for two months, tortured the help, basicly doing our part on maintaining America's rep over there. 

- Really, Babette asked, in a disappointed voice. 

- Kidding, Lorelai chuckled. - We saw... well, pretty much everything. Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, St. Peter's Basilica... 

- Mom touched the Pope, Rory pointed out. 

- You're _kidding_, Babette exclaimed. 

- Well, I just touched his car, but then one of the Swiss guards in the fruity cool clothing busted me. 

- Luckily, mom's fluent in flirting. 

- And flirting my way out of a situation with a guy in a pompom hat and a skirt, when _pregnant_, is quite an accomplishment. 

- But then the plan backfired, Rory grinned. - ...as the guard then proceeded to ask her out. 

- Oh, is he the one you wrote about on that bag of yours? 

- God no, Lorelai exclaimed as Rory errupted into laughter. - That was one of the guys at the hostel. We stayed there two nights, the second one I was asked out. 

- That's the one she said no to, Rory noted. 

- Well I couldn't just say no to the guard, Lorelai argued. - ...or I'd be in trouble. 

- So you went out with him, did ya, Babette asked. 

- God no, Lorelai giggled. 

- She stood him up. 

- Was it my fault we suddenly had to leave the very next day? 

- Well, sounds like you've had some trip there, Babette remarked. - How about I make you guys some cocoa. 

Realizing that the neighbours would stay all night if it was up to them, Lorelai used the one window she had when the two weren't looking to give Rory the emergency signal. Wasting no time, Rory performed a yawn worthy of a Golden Globe. 

- You okay hun, Lorelai asked. 

- Yeah, Rory replied, mid-yawn. - I'm just a bit tired. 

- Oh my God, would you look at the time, Babette exclaimed. - You better get some rest, can't be good for the baby, staying up all night. I'll talk to you two tomorrow. You know, Patty called me a couple of hours ago, telling me she's got the scoup of the year. Well, just wait until she hears about _this_. 

- Wait, what scoup is that, Lorelai asked. 

- Wish I knew, kitten, she only said it was big. I think she just doesn't want East-side Tilly grabbing it, like she's done with everything this Summer. I'll let you guys know tomorrow. 

- Allright, goodnight Babette. Night Morey. 

- Night doll. Sleep tight. 

TBC 


	31. Sookie, you are having a boy

AN: So, it's 3 am. It's the first day of school tomorrow. I _should_ be in bed, but instead I'm giving you this chapter. Aren't I nice? lol 

**JJFluffStuffForeva** - Thank you for reading. I'm glad you're enjoying it. lol, thank you for the idea, but the story's already planned out, so you'll have to wait and see on what happens :) 

**flcrkr** - The pillows were of course the hostel ones, I think it would be a wise idea to bring your own, yeah... lol. I liked the description you had for Rory tipping over, the Tower of Pisa is a perfect way to describe it... lol. There's a worse thing than never ending car rides; never ending bus rides. My first year of high school, every weekend I had to take an hour and a half bus ride back and forth home, which was boring enough, the next two years after it became every other weekend and the bus ride was over 4 hours long each way. Ick! And to add to the pain - no bathroom on the bus. Stomach problems run in my family, so those buses are a nightmare. 

**Mushroom27** - Well, the good samarithan that I am, here's a chapter to cure you ;) 

**purtyinpink71121** - Do you honestly think Lorelai would write anything about Luke being the dad on a bag she'd take with her in public? lol, hope you weren't late for soccer practice... lol 

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - Aww, you poor thing, I'm glad you'll survive, cause I wouldn't want to loose one of my novelists... lol. You lucky girl on the birthday party in Disneyland. Any chance I'll manage to get the same perk if I went there for my 23rd or 24th birthday? lol, I love your name rant and keep analyzing, lol, I'm loving it! Wish I had more to say and here I thougt I was a ranter, guess I'm not... lol 

**smileyGGfan** - Thank you, yeah the big 3-0, hopefully it won't be long until this turns into the big 4-0 and big 5-0... lol. :)

* * *

- Ahh, Lorelai exclaimed as she put the phone down. - I'd like to know what in the world was on your mind when you gave Babette that itinerary of yours. What happened to everything we said about being spontanious? Going where the wind blew us? 

- Hey, I can be spontanious, Rory objected. 

- Every time we strayed from your plan, you flinched. And you claim you can be spontanious? 

- Yes, I can... as long as everything is completely according to plan. 

- I swear, every day you're becoming more and more like me. 

- Well, I am my mothers daughter, Rory shrugged. 

- But seeing as I'm _your_ mother and not _my_ mother and this phone bill is as of now totalling your Yale tuition, almost, I'm afraid me and the baby will soon be crashing on your dorm room floor just to make the ends meet. 

- You have any calls left? 

- No, that was the Netherlands. I'm done. 

Lorelai sighed dramaticly and let herself fall backwards onto the couch, right in the middle of the piles of the unbelievable amounts of souvenirs. 

- Did you remember to make the doctor's appointment, Rory asked. 

- Friday at five, Lorelai confirmed, looking around at the piles. - Wow, that's a lot of stuff. They're all gifts? I didn't think we liked this many people. 

- Considering two of those piles are for Sookie and Jackson alone, it looks a lot worse than it is. 

- I guess I kinda went overboard, huh. 

- Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the understatement of the year, Rory remarked. 

- In my defence, I was only trying to even up the genders. 

- Because blue dresses are the very peak of masculinity, Rory deadpanned. 

- Be a little more sarcastic, please, Lorelai remarked, taking one more look at the piles. - So I guess we should get some tote bags. 

- What tote bags? 

- Capacious, handheld bags? Thrown in free whenever purchasing larger amounts of Clinique products. Often used just once before ending up in a closet somewhere. 

- I know what tote bags are, mom. 

- I figured if we got enough we could fit all this stuff in them. 

- We don't have tote bags. 

- Then how are we gonna get this stuff out of here? 

- We _could_ use one of the backpacks, Rory shrugged. 

- It's a whole lot of stuff for just one, unless you're actually letting me carry anything. 

- I'll use a bigger backpack. 

- Sweetie, we don't have bigger backpacks. There's a reason we bought new ones for the trip. 

- Then I guess I'll make two rounds or something. 

- Or, Lorelai suggested. - We'll load up Willard. He should be spacious enough, right? 

- I guess, Rory replied, wrinkling her nose. 

- Don't be upset, Willard, Lorelai said, patting the bag. - She didn't mean it like that. Somewhere deep down she loves you, too. 

- Ours is more of a platonic love. 

Lorelai tried getting up from the couch, so she could help, but after the third attempt, she simply gave up and watched her daughter get to work. Her growing stomach had more and more been getting in her way lately. The last time this had happened, she'd still been living at her parents estate and whenever a situation like this occured, there would always be someone to get her back onto her feet. Now, she only had Rory and by the end of the coming week, she wouldn't have that anymore. She looked down on the bulge in front of her and let her hands rub up and down, feeling the baby kicking from the outside as well as from within. 

- Hey, do you think the shirt will be enough, Lorelai wondered out loud. - Or will I be needing to take more drastic measures? 

- I think this is Stars Hollow and no matter how clear a statement you or your shirt makes, they still won't keep their hands off your stomach. 

- That's what I was afraid of, Lorelai sighed. 

- But it should be enough to discourage the tourists and the more polite. 

- Well, every bit counts, right? 

- Right, Rory said, as she placed the last item into the bag and zipped it shut. - Ready to go? 

- Just as soon as I get myself off of this couch, Lorelai replied, trying once more to push herself up from the couch. 

Rory grabbed her hand and pulled her back up on her feet. 

- Note to self, avoid sitting down, Lorelai muttered. - How am I gonna manage without you? 

- I guess we should put '_installing a crane_' somewhere on the agenda, Rory joked. 

- Yes, lets make fun of mommy's new figure, Lorelai remarked as the two made their way out of the house. 

Although Lorelai couldn't wait to see her friend again, whom she hadn't seen for far too long, she couldn't help dreading it a little as well. She was pretty sure that with the exception of just a couple of things she'd found too hard for Sookie to have to deal with, the night with Luke had been the only thing she'd intentionally kept secret from the chef. But this would be unlike any of the previous times, because this time Sookie would know something was up and Lorelai would be unable to even tell her why she couldn't know. 

Her trail of thoughts were interrupted when they closed in on Sookie's house, as a loud high-pitched squeal rang in her ears. A grin spread across her face as a more lumpy, but just as bubbly version of her friend ran towards her. 

- You're back, Sookie exclaimed. 

- We're back, Lorelai confirmed. 

- You're _pregnant_. 

- I'm pregnant, Lorelai nodded as the two of them threw their arms around each other and held on tight. 

- Hey, don't squish baby, Jackson yelled from the doorway. 

- I missed you so much, Sookie exclaimed as they let go of each other. - Oh, and I love that shirt, very '_Emperor's New Groove_' meets muumuu. 

- The shirt is a statement, Lorelai replied. - You have no idea how '_hands on_' some people can be... or well, I guess you _do_ know that. 

- Do I ever, Sookie chuckled. - Jackson won't even let me go grocery shopping anymore, he's afraid they'll squish my stomach. 

- Man, how I've missed you, Sook, Lorelai exclaimed. 

- You've missed _me_? You have no idea how much I've missed _you_.., Sookie sighed, adding. - Both of you. Oh, Rory, you look older. And Lorelai, why didn't you _tell_ me? How far along are you? Is it kicking yet? Who's the dad? Have you told him? Are you getting married? 

- Sweetie, relax, Lorelai chuckled, as they made their way into the house. - If I'd known when I left I would've told you, right away. I didn't find out until Paris. But, man oh man, look at _you_, when I left you weren't even showing, now look at you. 

- _I_ wasn't showing? Look who's talking. 

- I guess we've both been through changes, Lorelai chuckled. - But let me _look_ at you. Sideways, please? 

- Okay, Sookie giggled, posing sideways as Lorelai placed her right hand on her bulging stomach. 

- Hey baby, I'm your auntie Lorelai and this, Lorelai cooed, putting her other hand on her own stomach. - ...is your future best friend and the girl over there's your auntie Rory. Say hi, Rory. 

- Hey, Rory said, still standing by the doorway. 

- Come over here, Lorelai said, beckoning for her to come. 

- No, I'm good. 

- Come on, Sookie encouraged her. - Rory, rub my stomach. 

- I'd rather not, Rory said, making her way to the couch. 

- Rory's a chicken, Lorelai informed her friend. - I barely got her to feel when _my_ baby started kicking. 

- _You_ put my hand on your stomach, not me. 

- Don't worry, Rory, Sookie comforted her. - Jackson's exactly the same. 

- Hey, Jackson objected. - I'm gonna like it when it comes out. 

- Well, Lorelai asked. - What did the ultrasound say? Boy or girl? 

- It's a... 

- Buh-buh-buh-buh, Jackson exclaimed. 

- It's a buh, Lorelai asked, confused. - What's a buh? 

- Read, Jackson demanded, pulling his shirt aside. 

- 'I do not want to know the sex of my baby.' 

- That's right, Jackson announced, proudly. - I'm going old school on this. 

- And he's being completely stubborn about it, Sookie sighed. 

- But you know, Rory asked her. 

- Of course I know. I had little clothes to buy... 

- Buh-buh-buh, Jackson objected. 

- _What_, Sookie exclaimed. - I said _nothing_ about the sex. 

- You said little, Jackson replied, accusatory. - And now I know it's going to be little. 

- Jackson, _all_ babies are little, Lorelai reasoned with him. - Unless the daddy's Emperor Karl VI. 

- Why don't you wanna know, Rory asked. 

- It's the way it's supposed to be, Jackson explained. - Back in the day, the guys would pace back and forth in the waiting room until a pretty nurse in a nice white outfit would come out and say, 'Congratulations, it's a... _insert your chosen sex here_.' Ricky Ricardo didn't know, Dick Van Dyke didn't know, and by gum, if it was good enough for Rick and Dick, it's good enough for me. 

- But _I_ wanna know, Lorelai pouted. 

- What are _you_ having, Sookie asked her. 

- One that approves of my eating habits and likes keeping me awake, Lorelai shrugged. - I have no idea. I'd guess on a girl, but Rory seems to think my theory doesn't hold up. 

- Well, it doesn't, Rory remarked. 

- So, you want a girl, Sookie wondered. 

- I don't know, Lorelai shrugged. - I think I'm pretty fine with either. 

- One wouldn't think it, Rory commented. - ...judging by your shopping. 

- That's right, Lorelai exclaimed. - I almost forgot, we have presents. 

- You didn't have to bring us anything, Sookie objected as Lorelai with only minor difficulty got out of her chair. 

- What are you talking about, Lorelai asked, as she fished out the two bags containing the gifts. - We're not going all the way to Europe without bringing our friends a little something. 

- A _little_ something, Rory chuckled. 

- Sure, make fun, Lorelai said, rolling her eyes as she handed the bags to the couple. 

- These are all boy's clothes, Jackson exclaimed as he looked through his. - I told you I didn't want to know. Sookie, did you tell them we were having a boy? I can't believe you _did_ this. 

- Jackson, relax, Lorelai chuckled. - We bought some of each. We just decided to give _you_ the boy stuff and Sookie the girl stuff and whichever you're not using, you can just hand back to me. Practical, huh? 

- We can't do that, Jackson objected. - Then I'll know which it is, because of which one we gave back to you. 

- Come on, Sookie suggested, getting up from her chair. - I'll take them out to the shed. 

- I'll help, Lorelai replied, getting up from hers. - Rory? You coming? 

- Please, Rory, Jackson pleaded. - Be on my side. What do you say? 

- Jackson, Sookie said, rolling her eyes. - There are no sides. 

- We can be in that waiting room together, pacing, waiting, we'll get you a nice suit. What do you say? 

- Okay, sure, Rory grinned. - I'm on Jackson's side. 

- Great, Jackson replied, handing her a button. - Welcome to 1954. 

- Happy to be here, Rory said, pinning the button on her sweater. 

- Are you sure you don't wanna know, Lorelai asked her. 

- Read the button, missy, Rory replied, pointing to the button on her sweater. 

- Okay, Lorelai sighed, rolling her eyes. 

Sookie grabbed a hold of her hand and dragged her out the door with her, carrying one bag, while Lorelai carried the other. 

- So Jackson's really not gonna be in the delivery room with you, Lorelai asked her. - Doesn't that bug you? 

- Not really, Sookie shrugged. - I mean, I don't like having Jackson see me shave my legs, I don't think _I'd_ like him seeing, you know, _that_. 

- Well, here I was gonna offer myself up, but if you put it like that, Lorelai joked. 

- Okay, are you ready, Sookie asked her. 

- For what? 

- _I'm opening the shed_, Sookie announced loudly, grinning excitedly, as she let the doors fly open. 

Lorelai gasped as she saw the interior of the shed in all shades of blue. Recliner, rocking chair, blankets, stuffed animals, little outfits. Everything was blue. 

- It's a boy, Lorelai asked. 

- It's a boy, Sookie confirmed. 

- Aw, Sookie, you're having a _boy_, Lorelai exclaimed. - I guess this means I can keep the little dresses, huh? 

- Yeah, Sookie grinned. - They were so adorable. I'm almost sad I'm not getting to use them. 

- Well, there's always the posibillity of raising him as a crossdresser, Lorelai suggested. 

- Somehow I don't think that'll sit well with Jackson. 

- Yeah, Lorelai giggled. - I guess not. You're happy right? About a boy? 

- Of course I am, Sookie replied. - We need another boy around. Jackson will finally have that son to prune the trees with. 

- Aw, I'm so excited, a _boy_! Oh, a little boy, Lorelai sighed, picking up a little blue teddybear. - I know nothing about little boys. 

- Me neither, Sookie giggled. - Lets hope you have a girl, then. When are you finding out? 

- My appointment's on Friday. 

- Are you excited, Sookie asked, taking a seat in the recliner. 

- Yeah, Lorelai sighed, plopping onto the rocking chair. - I am. 

- So, Sookie said, getting to the point. - When are you gonna start telling me things? 

- What do you mean, Lorelai asked, confused. 

- What do I mean? What do you mean 'what do I mean'? You leave for Europe and you come back pregnant. 

- Technically I was pregnant _when_ I went to Europe, Lorelai pointed out. 

- You know what I mean, Sookie sighed. - You're my best friend and you come back bearing this sensational news and _I'm_ the last one to know. _Me_, your best friend. 

- The disadvantage of being neighbours with one of Stars Hollow's gossip queens, Lorelai shrugged. - Sook, if there was any way I could tell you before the rest, I would. You know that, right? 

- Right, I know that, Sookie murmured. - It's just that, lately I haven't been so sure about that. You used to confide in me with everything. 

- I still do, Lorelai insisted. 

- No, Lorelai, you don't. You couldn't even tell me about your feelings for Luke, I practicly had to beat it out of you and now you're acting the same way with this pregnancy. 

- I'm _not_. 

- Then _tell_ me something, Sookie begged. - When did it happen? Or better yet, with who? Alex? Max? 

- I wish I could tell you, Lorelai sighed. - But I can't. 

- No, Sookie corrected. - Not can't. You won't. 

- It's not that I don't trust you, Sookie. I do. You have no idea how much. But I need to tell the father before I tell anyone else. 

- Who am I gonna tell? 

- It's not about that, Lorelai sighed, searching her mind to find a way to explain. - How would you feel if the whole town had known about your baby before you'd managed to tell Jackson? 

- Oh. 

- If the situation had been ideal, I'd probably be running to you before anyone else, but it isn't. I'm not married, I'm not even in a relationship right now, this isn't just me telling my boyfriend he's gonna be a daddy. So please, just give me some time. 

- Okay, Sookie nodded. 

- Thank you, Lorelai smiled, her eyes turning to Sookie's bump. - So... you're gonna name him Lorelai? 

- Absolutely, Sookie nodded. - That wouldn't be confusing at all. 

- Great, Lorelai grinned. - But joke aside, have you started discussing names, yet? 

- Not yet, Sookie sighed. - Jackson talked about it a while ago, but ever since I found out the sex, he's been afraid to discuss it in case I slip up and tell him. 

- But you can't wait until the baby's born. He'll be little no-name for three weeks plus if you're not carefull. 

- Don't worry, I'm working on him, Sookie giggled. 

- Good. 

- Have you been thinking of names, Sookie asked in return. 

- Not yet, but somehow I have a feeling once the Demerol enters my body, the decision will be made for me. 

- Do you think our babies will be best friends, Sookie wondered out loud. 

- If they know what's good for them. They will. 

TBC 


	32. Through the grape vines

AN: If anyone wonders why it took a week, here's what happened to me my first day of school. The teacher announced we had a paper due in just one week. So I worked my butt off on it during the week to free me up for the weekend, since I knew that was the only way I could get another chapter done quickly. However I'm going back to regular classes this coming week, so it should all be good. I'll be busy, but not too busy, you know... lol. Plus my roommate was really nice to me today. She was home for the weekend and when she came back she had GG season 4 and 5 for me to watch, yay! Finally I can see my favourite LL moments whenever I want, plus I can finally see season 4 from beginning to end, something I haven't done before. Would you guys believe me if I said season 3 and 4 were the seasons I knew the least about when I started writing my fic? lol. As usual a big shoutout for Steph's betaing :) You're great, hun. 

**smileyGGfan** - Yeah, sorry it was a short shoutout, but it was 3 am, I was tired and I couldn't think of much to say. I too hope the babies will be best friends, we'll see how far I take this series... lol. Hope you're having a great trip, can't wait to see what more you have to say on this chapter. 

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - Yes best friends is something that can happen regardeless what the sex is. Well you can read above on how my first day was... lol, however I think tomorrow is my _real_ first day, since then I'll start having my regular classes. Hope your friend had a good first day as well. We'll see if I'll ever have a birthday in Disneyland... lol, depends on when I can take time off and so on. But I can't complain really, I had a great birthday once at a convention and one of the guests, Nicholas Brendon (Xander in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") jumped down from the stage to give me a hug. That was my best birthday... lol. You can just relax and tell me whatevere you want to happen, cause the baby's sex was decided before the story even was begun. 

**flcrkr** - They won't be that much appart. Sookie's only a few weeks further along than Lorelai, so the babies will be born pretty closely after each other.

* * *

- I can't believe Taylor did that, Rory exclaimed, as the two Gilmores made their way out of the Soda Shoppe. - Whatever happened to asking my permission? 

- And what's with making _you_ the Queen, Lorelai added. - Has he forgotten whose income pretty much paid for that store? Not to mention who talked Luke into letting him rent it in the first place. 

- You wanted to be the Ice Cream Queen? 

- Well, to be considered would've been nice, Lorelai shrugged. - I mean, what do you have that I don't? 

- Maybe I'm just more photogenic, Rory suggested. 

- Do I have to pull out your class picture again? 

- Hey, it wasn't my fault I was sneezing in that particular one, Rory objected. - There was at least three hundred photos where I didn't, but Paris had to pick that one. 

- Hey, you sneeze you lose. 

- The term is 'snooze you lose', Rory remarked. 

- Not in this case, Lorelai giggled. - And _you're_ the one Taylor wants to display all over town? 

- Says the woman mastering the Billy Idol scowl when sitting for oil paintings. 

- Which I did deliberately, Lorelai pointed out. 

- Maybe he just doesn't want a pregnant Queen, Rory shrugged. 

- And not ensure the next generation of the Ice Cream Royal Family? How long until he can expect you do do the same? If the answer to that is less than ten years, I'm getting you a chastity belt. 

- What I meant was maybe this is more of an appearance thing, than a pregnancy thing. 

- Since when has apperance meant a thing when it comes to royalty? If it did Britain would've had a whole different Royal Family. 

- I don't know, Prince William's pretty cute, Rory pointed out. 

- And here's to praying he takes after his mother's side of the family. 

- Amen to that. 

- Amen to what, a familliar voice behind Lorelai asked. 

She turned around just in time to see her daughter run past her, throwing her arms around the boy the voice belonged to. Jess looked as surprised as Lorelai for a couple of seconds before he wrapped his arms around Rory and kissed her back. 

- Whoa guys, Lorelai exclaimed, throwing her hands up. - Break it up, we're in a public place. 

The two teens complied and somewhat reluctantly Rory took a small step back, her hands still intertwined with his. 

- You're back, she stated. - When did you come back? 

- A week, week and a half ago or so, he shrugged. - I waited for you on Saturday, but you never showed. 

- You waited for me, Rory asked, failing to supress a grin. 

- Just Saturday, he shrugged. - I went by the house a couple of times on Sunday. After that I had work, so I figured I'd know when you got back. 

- We came home last night, Rory informed him. 

- So I heard. If I'd known you'd greet me like that, I'd probably've been there to meet you. 

- Well, I missed you, Rory shrugged. 

- Don't read to much into this, Jess, Lorelai warned him. - I caught her two steps away from making out with her entire sock drawer when we got back. 

- Two months in hostels makes you start appreciating the smaller things in life, Rory shrugged. - By the end of it I was missing everything. Europe's great and all, but I'm happy to be back. 

- Same here, Lorelai agreed. - You just can't stay away from this crazy town for too long, you'll end up missing seeing how many new jobs Kirk's managed to get during the Summer. 

- Or holding a poll on how many tourists Miss Patty manages to grope before Taylor warns her about improper behaviour. 

- Objecting to Taylor's latest endeavour, Lorelai added. 

- He made me the Ice Cream Queen, Rory informed Jess, wrinkling her nose. 

- I know, Jess shrugged. - Saw the fliers. He handed out like two hundred of them last week. 

- There's fliers, too, Rory groaned. - He could've at least had the decency to ask me before pulling a stunt like this. 

- At least he made you Queen, Lorelai pointed out. - What am I? Queen mother, talk about your appealing title. 

- If you want I'd gladly hand over my crown and scepter, Rory remarked. 

- Seems like Taylor's been pissing everybody off lately, Jess stated. 

- He's Taylor, Lorelai pointed out. - It's his job. 

- Who else has he pissed off, Rory wanted to know. 

- Well Taylor put up this window between the shop and the diner. 

- Oh, wow, Lorelai exclaimed, as she spotted the joint window. - I didn't even notice that. Man, Luke must've been pissed, huh? 

- Furious, Jess confirmed. - He spent two hours in there earlier yelling at Taylor, another one throwing around all the candy. 

- _No_, Lorelai exclaimed. 

- Yup. Guy finally lost it. 

- And I missed it? Man, I'm so bummed. 

- Me too, Rory chimed in. - Luke rarely loses it. Closest thing I've seen is when he protests the annual reenactment of the Battle of Stars Hollow. 

- The what, Jess asked, confused. 

- Every year twelve guys dress up in costumes and pretend to be waiting for the Red Coats, Lorelai explained. 

- You mean those idiots with the muskets standing in the snow all night? 

- Would you know it, a miniature Luke, Lorelai joked. 

- Whatever, Jess said, rolling his eyes, as he leaned in giving Rory a quick peck. - I'm outy, see you tomorrow? 

- Wait, where're you going, Rory frowned. 

- Work, some errands, Jess shrugged. 

- Work, Lorelai asked, raising her brow. 

- Just some minor stuff around town before school starts, Jess shrugged as he walked away. - I'm running late. See you tomorrow. 

Lorelai waited until he was out of earshot before she turned and looked at her daughter. 

- School, she asked. 

- Don't look at me, Rory replied. - Last he and I talked he was taking some time to think. 

- What two months can do to a guy, I swear, he almost seemed civil. 

- Mom, Rory warned. - Don't start. You said it was up to me to forgive him. 

- Sorry, old habits die hard, Lorelai apologized. - I'm just a little surprised, that's all. I'll stay out of it, as long as you promise me not to let the time apart cloud your judgement. 

- I won't, Rory promised. - But deciding to go back to school's a good sign, though. 

- That it is, Lorelai nodded. - So, who're you planning on hitting next? 

- I was thinking of heading over to Lane's and catch up. Are you gonna be helping me deliver the gifts? 

- I can't, Lorelai sighed. - I have to, you know, talk to Luke. 

- Really? You're really telling him today? 

- Of course I am. I said I was, didn't I? 

- Yeah, I know you said you were, but you're also the Queen of avoidance. 

- Finally I'm Queen of something. 

- Would you just let it go? 

- Fine, Lorelai sighed. - Yes, I'm telling him. 

- You thought about how you're gonna do this? You know he's not closing until another couple of hours, right? 

- I have no idea, Lorelai sighed. - I'll probably need that time just working up the courage to tell him at all. _How_ will most likely be left to chance. 

- I think a basic _'The baby's yours'_ will do the trick. 

- Yeah, I guess that'll do, Lorelai nodded, her glance wandering to the wheely-bag. - How many gifts do we have left? 

- Almost all of them, Rory replied. - It'll take forever for me to hand them all out. 

- And our time's limited, Lorelai added. - You know what, lets forget it. I'll bring'em with me to the next town meeting and give'em out then. 

- You're not carrying them, Rory warned her. 

- Relax, I'll have Babette, Morey or maybe Luke to do it for me, Lorelai assured her, then realized. - Oh no. 

- What? 

- Luke, we forgot Luke. 

- We forgot Luke how, Rory asked confused, before realization hit her as well. - Oh no, we forgot getting him a gift. 

- I _knew_ putting it off was a bad idea, Lorelai sighed. - I should've just bought those boxers for him. 

- I do believe if given a choice between those tacky boxers and no gift at all, Luke would've gladly said no to a gift. 

- So not the point, we've bought stuff for almost the entire town. He's gonna believe we didn't think about him while we were in Europe, which couldn't be further from the truth. 

- What about the baby flannel, Rory suggested. - You did think about him when you bought that. Maybe you could even use that to tell him. 

- I left it at the house. 

- Then you'll give it to him later. 

- I guess, Lorelai shrugged. - Have fun at Lane's. 

- And good luck with telling Luke. 

- Thanks, Lorelai sighed. - And remember. You don't know a thing. 

- We've had the talk, mom. 

- I know, but we're having it one more time. No telling anyone anything. 

- I promise, not a peep will come out of me. Now get your butt in there before you chicken out of the whole thing. 

And there the word was, chicken. Except for suddenly getting a strong urge to order chicken, _damn cravings_, the word made the one question Lorelai had been pushing to the back of her mind all day, surface. Could she even tell him? She spotted him on the other side of the glass door, busily taking an order from a customer. Deep down she knew really well that if she turned around now, if she chickened out, it would be months before she managed to work up he courage again, if she ever did. Even though the choice she'd made in Europe to tell him, hadn't been done lightly, making the decision to tell Luke when she got back had felt safe back then, because she wouldn't be facing him for weeks. Now, she only had minutes before the town would start asking questions. The situation felt oddly familliar, when she realized she'd been acting the same way just a couple of months back, when things between her and Luke had been weird because of that night. She'd pushed herself to overcome it for Rory's sake and now she would just have to do it for her baby's sake. 

The door felt heavier than usual and damn it if the bell didn't ring louder. Luke's eyes met hers the moment she walked in. Why was it he always looked up whenever she entered the diner, but never when anyone else did? She knew she only had a couple of seconds to say something before she'd awaken suspicion, so she said the first quippy thing that came to mind. 

- _Bonjour_, Luke. _Voulez-vous attachez mes chausseurs, s'il vous plait_? 

Of course the first phrase that came to mind was one of the French ones she'd learned during her trip. 

- What, Luke asked confused. 

- Um, hi, Luke, Lorelai translated. - Can you please tie my shoes? 

- Your shoes don't have laces, Luke pointed out. 

- Oh yeah, Lorelai giggled. - Guess that's what two months of wearing sneakers will do to a girl. 

- Came in handy did it? 

- Yup, Lorelai nodded. - By the end of the trip I couldn't bend down to do it myself, but you have no idea how many French guys actually are willing to tie your shoes for you if you ask nicely. 

- So you're.., Luke said, gesturing to her stomach. 

- Yup, she confirmed. 

She knew the opening was right there, but this wasn't something she could blurt out for the whole diner to hear. She'd get another opening once the crowd thinned down. 

- Congratulations, Luke told her. 

His voice was sincere, but there was something odd when she looked him in the eyes. It was almost like she was seeing a stinge of jealousy. Was the town right after all? Was there more to them than just the friendly banter they had going? Had that night been more than just the alcohol talking? She wanted to ask about all of that, only she didn't. 

- Thank you, she said, instead. 

- How long have you known? 

- Around two months now. I found out in Paris. 

- And how's Rory taking it, he asked. 

- I think she's pretty excited. She's probably relieved I'm not gonna be sitting home alone moping, while she makes way for the big bad Ivy League world. 

- What about you? How do you feel? 

- Right now I'm feeling a strong urge for chicken, Lorelai answered, then added. - And coffee. 

- I can get you the chicken, but you're not getting coffee. 

- What, Lorelai exclaimed. - Why? 

- You're pregnant, Luke stated. 

- You don't need to tell me, I was pretty much present when the plus sign appeared. 

- So, you really shouldn't have coffee while you're pregnant. It's bad for the baby. 

- I had coffee every single day while I was pregnant with Rory, Lorelai pointed out. - And she turned out just fine. 

- Rory's a caffeine addict because of it, that doesn't qualify as fine. 

- Come on, Luke, please, Lorelai begged. - I'll eat an apple if you give me a cup. 

- Like I'm gonna fall for that, he said, dryly. - Apples are your pregnancy food. 

- Yeah, with Rory they were. I don't know why, but this baby's much less strict on mommy. There's the occasional salad and some fruit, but not anywhere near the amounts Rory had me downing. 

- Not even if the baby had you eating purely organic food, would I be insane enough to give you coffee. 

- Come on, you wouldn't want the baby and I to go cold turkey. 

- No coffee, Luke said, crossing his arms. 

- I hope you realize you're not the only coffee providor in this town, Lorelai pointed out. - Just because I come here every day and I think without a doubt that your coffee's the best doesn't mean I won't go other places to get my fix if you refuse to give it to me. However since no coffee can ever compare to yours I will be forced to double the intake to get the same effect, so really by serving me you'd actually be doing the baby a favor. 

The two of them had a staredown before Luke finally sighed, turned around and filled a cup halfway up. 

- You're only getting salad with your chicken, he told her, handing her the cup. - No fries. 

Lorelai wanted to grin, instead quickly lifted the cup up to hide the half-smile she couldn't hold back and took a sip. 

- Ok, she said, putting the cup back down. - Your coffee might be the best, but that doesn't mean your decaf is. 

- Oh come on, he objected. - How can you possibly tell the difference? 

- Same way I can differentiate between coke and pepsi, Lorelai shrugged. - I can taste it right away. 

- They taste the same, Luke exclaimed. 

- Spoken like a true outsider, Lorelai remarked. 

- Fine, Luke sighed and grabbed the pot with regular coffee, filling the rest of the cup up. - Here. 

- That's still half'n half, Lorelai commented, wrinkling her nose. 

- It's the most I'm willing to give you, take it or leave it. 

- alright, but then you're adding fries to my order. 

- Fine, Luke sighed. - Grab a table, I'll bring you your food. 

Lorelai didn't realize how hungry she was until she had that first bite of chicken. Luke made really good chicken. She made a mental note to try it again when the baby was born, just to see if this was her tastebuds tricking her or if chicken really was that good. Hoping to talk Luke into giving her another cup of coffee and maybe some pie, she even finished her entire salad. 

- Luke, she called out, holding her cup up. 

- No more coffee, he called back. 

- Please, she begged. - I finished off the whole salad. 

Luke made that look, the look he always made right before giving in. And true, he came over to her table only five minutes later, a pot in each hand. He filled the cup up half'n half, without objections from her. 

- Can I have some pie too, she asked, sweetly. 

- What kind, he sighed. 

- Boysenberry, she asked. 

- I'll see if I have any left, he told her. 

He returned just two minutes later, carrying the very last piece of boysenberry pie. It was then Lorelai noticed most of the crowd was gone. There was a couple of tourists in one corner and Kirk was up by the counter as per usual. 

- Hey Luke, she asked as he was about to return to the counter. 

- Yeah, he asked, his tone suggesting he was slightly annoyed. 

- Do you think I can talk to you about something, she asked him. - In private? 

- Can it wait a couple of minutes, he asked back. - I have a couple of orders to finish. 

- Sure, she nodded. 

She was seemingly calm, but her heart was racing a mile a minute. Every instinct told her she'd be much more comfortable walking out of the diner, than staying put and doing what she'd set out to do. The whole world seemed to be going in slow motion as she observed him flipping a couple of burgers on the grill, arguing with Kirk about the bill before once more returning to the kitchen. Even the bell above the door seemed to be in slow motion as Patty entered the diner. It was like time itself wanted to torment her. 

- _Lorelai_, Patty exclaimed as she took in Lorelai's new apperance. - So it _is_ true. 

- Hey Patty, Lorelai replied, with an unenthusiastic smile on her face. 

Just her luck that one of Stars Hollow's gossip queens decided to pop by just then. 

- My, my have you been busy, Patty smirked. - When did this happen? I assume it wasn't in Europe. 

- No, Lorelai shook her head. - The dad's all American. 

- Well, then tell me, whose is it, Patty asked eagerly. 

- See, Patty, Lorelai explained. - I kinda want to tell him about it before I tell anyone else. 

- Oh, alright, Patty replied. - But make it soon, I'm dying to know. 

- Will do, Lorelai promised. 

- This has been some exciting couple of days, Patty remarked. - First Luke gets married, now you go and get yourself knocked up. 

The minute Miss Patty said it, Lorelai's heart stopped. 

- Wait _what_, Lorelai exclaimed in shock. - Luke did _what_? 

- Sweetheart, you didn't _know_, Patty asked, surprised. - He came home a week ago, shied away from everybody, not that's unusual for him, but he did more so than ever before. So Babette tries asking him, I try asking him and nothing. Then my phone, which sometimes picks up other people's conversations, picks up a particularly interessting one. It's Nicole, and they start talking, or more like arguing, then suddenly Nicole exclaims '_Do I need to remind you that you proposed to me, not the other way around?_' So here I'm thinking they just got engaged, but I listen on and turns out, they got married. 

Lorelai was staring into the air in shock, as Patty babbled on and she couldn't even register herself responding to it, but she knew she did, or else Patty would've noticed. Instead the woman said goodbye and left the diner. Under two minutes later, Luke came by her table. Lorelai was still just staring out the window, looking at nothing. 

- You alright, he asked. 

Snapping out of it, she looked at him. She wanted to just tell him no, she wasn't alright. He was married. _Luke_ was married... to Nicole... who hated Lorelai. 

- Yeah, she lied, getting up. - I'm just... the baby takes it out of me, you know. We'll have to take a raincheck on that talk. 

- Sure, he agreed. - Do you need a ride? 

- No that's okay, Lorelai replied. - It's only five minutes. 

- You sure? 

- Yeah, she said, swallowing the lump in her throat. 

She pulled out her purse, but Luke stopped her. 

- Forget it, he said. - Think of it as a welcome home present. 

She gave him the closest thing she had for a grateful smile, then made her way out of the diner. Although she'd said five minutes, she was sure even with the pregnancy slowing her down, she only used three. 

- Rory, she called out, once she got inside, hoping her daughter was home. 

Rory met her in the doorway with a panicked look on her face. 

- My Yale orientation is this Saturday, her daughter told her. 

- Luke's married, Lorelai replied, finally letting the tears run down her face. 

TBC 


	33. I want to tell him

AN: So, a thanks to Carolyn for betaing for me this time, I appreciate it :) Just a warning, my dad's visiting next weekend and the weekend after that I'm going to the UK for a convention, plus I have a home exam as well, so in case it takes longer to give you the next chapter, now you know why.

**quiddie** - That's a nice compensation, yeh :) Thank you so much for the compliment, I'm glad you think my english is good :) Yay, one more person who didn't see the pregnancy coming, I achieved my goal! I can't tell you much, but I can tell you this, I too hate stories where a pregnancy becomes a "fix-it" patch for the problems, cause that's not a solution, only a recipy for much more disastard. Don't worry, ok. I think you answered your other questions yourself, if that makes sense... lol

**Nubes** - God no, I hate what ASP did to LL in season 6. I'm not saying this is gonna be easy, but it will turn to the better. That I can promise.

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - Sounds like you reacted the way I intended you to. I hope you understand couldn't change the fact that Luke got married. For him very little changed from the way the show went and my policy with this fic is to let the events run their course. Some things are beyond my control and to make any sort of changes that isn't from some sort of ripple effect from Lorelai's alternative route will only make the story unrealistic. Yes, Lorelai's in for an emotional rollercoaster and I too feel bad for her, but this was where her actions lead her and I have to let the story keep flowing.

**Gymtig** - No, that's okay, last year I had an exam dropped on me like that, have to say I prefer the paper. And I can't drop the class if I want my degree, which I want. Plus it's three papers and the grade is "passed"/"not passed", so it's not that difficult of a class, really.

**sarahb2007** - My school's called (translated) _Norway's Information Technology College_ (NITH). It's located in Bergen, Norway, where I live.

* * *

Lorelai Victoria Gilmore was a coward. The moment Patty had told her about Luke's maritual state, she'd taken off. Not that anyone could blame her as she'd pretty much been on autopilot the whole way home. It wasn't until she'd seen Rory, the one person in the world who could ground her in reality, that she'd started crying. It was more than Rory's presence that did it, it was the whole thing, how her daughter appeared to be the last person in Stars Hollow to know the big news, how she would be losing her kid to the Ivy League even more quickly than she originally thought, and it was how she realized that she'd already lost Luke. Luke was married. Luke was _married_. It was a difficult concept for her to grasp. Luke, the Stars Hollow hermit, _her_ Luke... was married. Tied the knot, got hitched, found a spouse, settled down and whatever other idioms came to mind, she listed them all in her head, trying to see if one of them would make the situation less awkward and strange. No such luck.

It wasn't the way she had run the minute she heard the news that made her a coward. It was how, when she saw Luke the very next day, which was completely unavoidable, when Luke asked her what she'd wanted to talk to him about, how she had chickened out of telling him. There had been no one else there to listen in on the conversation. They had been in a gossip free place. Yet instead of finishing what she had originally set out to do before the news had reached her, she'd just asked Luke if she could borrow his truck to move Rory into Yale.

It took surprisingly little persuation to get Luke to say yes. Then again, when she really thought about it, Luke had always had this chivalrous side to him and he was rarely able to say no to her requests. A weakness she'd been known to exploit at every given opportunity. But it was more than just his lacking ability to refuse behind it, and she knew it. Although she couldn't say for sure where he stood when it came to her, she knew he cared. He cared about her health, about her welfare, which was why, when he said yes to her using his truck to move Rory's things he insisted that no one but him were to drive it to Yale for them.

He'd also insisted on giving them a hand with the packing and the loading up of the truck, especially when he found out that Rory would be spending a larger part of the evening at the Gilmore estate, leaving Lorelai to do most of the work. Normally this was an offer Lorelai would milk to the fullest, as she had never in her life been fond of manual labor, or any kind of labor for that matter. But having had almost no time to adjust to the news that Luke was yet to share with her, she wasn't sure she'd be able to keep up this happy pretence for him, let alone keep herself from tearing up should he decide to tell her. There was no declining his offer, as Luke pointed out the dangers of heavy lifting resulting in miscarriage for pregnant women. _How on earth did_ Luke _know that?_ So now, not only was she having to face seeing Luke for most of the day today, as well as most of tomorrow, with her condition there would be nothing she could do to keep herself busy and distracted, as Luke wouldn't let her do much of either packing or carrying.

He had made his point by telling her to imagine the situation reversed. Skillfully ignoring her male pregnancy joke, he asked her to imagine if Rory had been the one pregnant and not her. _Scary thought._ Everything she would deem too heavy or dangerous for a pregnant Rory to do, that was what Luke would forbid the currently pregnant Lorelai to do, also. Rory, the worrywart she was, had immediately sided with Luke on the matter and pointed out that losing a kid would be just as bad as losing grandkid. In exchange for the promise not to bring up the subject of grandkids for another ten years, Lorelai had agreed to their terms.

Doing her share to help lessen the amount of work for Luke to do, Rory helped with the more heavy packing for the first couple of hours before changing into something more appropriate for Friday night dinner. Six pm on the dot, just as Lorelai waved goodbye to her daughter driving off, Luke's truck pulled into her driveway, the mattress she'd asked him to pick up for her, already at the back of it.

- You'd think, he said, as he got out. - That a fancy school like Yale would already have a mattress in the room.

- Gross mattresses, Lorelai pointed out. - Ones that have been exposed to all sorts of bodily fluids. I wouldn't be able to sleep on one of those and neither should Rory.

- You just spent a whole summer sleeping on those kinds of mattresses, Luke pointed out.

- But see, no one ever sleeps in the nude on those mattresses. So they may be gross and the pillows smell like feet, but at least those mattresses hasn't seen the action the Yale ones has.

- You think no one ever has sex in a hostel?

- Not in a fourteen people bedroom, they don't.

- That's what you were staying in, Luke asked, clearly surprised.

- As often as we could manage. There were times we had to settle on twelve and ten. Once in Milan, we were in an eight people bedroom, because the hostel was so full, but that was only that one night.

- Why on earth would you want to sleep with so many people?

- Dirty, she teased.

- You know what I mean. I can't imagine why you'd want to share with so many.

- It's cheaper and safer, Lorelai shrugged.

- How is bunking with twelve strangers safer, Luke wanted to know.

- For the same reason it's safer to walk through crowded streets than the lonely alleys. Even if you have someone in the room up to something, like that one guy in Paris...

- ...guy? What guy, Luke interrupted.

- A guy in Paris kept hitting on me, waking me up in the middle of the night, things like that, Lorelai explained. - Now, since Rory and I couldn't afford to pay for private rooms, if we'd been in, lets say a four people bedroom and the guy had been there, he might've tried something. But in a fourteen people bedroom he'd have to have to be bunking with eleven of his closest friends to dare to try anything.

- He could've tried something during the day, Luke pointed out.

- Do you have any idea what a rarity it is to have a hostel room for yourself for any significant amount of time? That door flew open and shut pretty much every ten minutes.

- Then where did you get changed?

- Bathroom cubicle.

- You're kidding, Luke chuckled.

- Afraid not. At first I changed in the bathroom, but ever since catching that guy showering in the girl's bathroom, don't worry, the management kicked him out that very night, but since that incident I resorted to getting dressed in the cubicle.

- For some reason I can't imagine you doing that.

- What, getting dressed? The ensemble in front of you isn't proof enough for you, Lorelai joked.

Luke rolled his eyes, then looked at the boxes standing on the porch. His eyes turned suspiciously to Lorelai.

- I thought we made a deal, he said, accusatory. - You weren't supposed to be carrying anything heavy.

- Don't worry, even if I wanted to try to break the rules, Rory wouldn't've let me. She packed her books herself and she did all the carrying. I may bend the rules every now and then, but I'm not stupid enough to deliberately do anything that will hurt the baby, so stop accusing me to be.

She inwardly cringed as she heard herself speak. _Damn hormones._ Taking a couple of deep breaths she willed herself not to start crying. Once the tearflood started, it'd take her forever to stop. She knew Luke knew it was hormones, but she didn't want to subject him to it more than she already had.

- Sorry, she muttered, taking a seat on the porch. - I didn't mean to go all hormonal on you.

- You ok, he asked, a little taken back.

- Yeah, she sighed. - It comes with the territory. You should see me with my head down the toilet, then I'm just delightful.

- I think I'll pass, Luke replied with a half-smile, before his expression turned slightly more serious. - Have you told the father yet?

The question gave her shivers down her spine.

- No, she said, shaking her head. - Not yet.

- Why not?

- It's um.., she started, searching for the right word. - It's a bit complicated.

- But you're planning on telling him, Luke asked. - I'm sorry. You know what, forget I asked. It's not my business.

- I want to, Lorelai answered him, honestly. - And maybe some day I can.

- I'm not gonna butt in on what's your business, Luke told her, taking a seat next to her. - But if you want my opinion, you tell the guy and he bails on you, the only thing that guy deserves is having all his teeth knocked out, preferably one at a time. In fact, give me the name and I'll gladly do it for you.

- Well, of course, Lorelai grinned. - I couldn't very well do that myself. It'd probably be too straining for the baby.

- Of course, Luke nodded. - We're also ignoring the fact that you can't hit to save your life.

- Bah, a technicality, Lorelai quipped.

- You feeling better, Luke asked her.

- Yeah, Lorelai nodded. - I can't say for sure if we're completely out of the woods or not, so don't freak out if I start bawling for no apparent reason.

- I'll try not to, he promised.

- Good. Then lets get the truck loaded up.

- Lorelai.., he warned her.

- Relax, pal. I'm gonna be inside, packing up the clothes and accesories. You're still gonna be doing all the lifting and carrying.

- You mean there's more than this, he asked, gesturing to the many already filled boxes.

- You built my daughter every bookself she's owned and you're surprised by the amount of boxes her books take up?

- She's bringing them _all_, Luke asked in disbelief.

- Oh _no_, Lorelai shook her head. - That would be insane. This is maybe just half her books or so.

- When are she gonna have the time reading all of these?

- She likes having her options, Lorelai shrugged.

- She's crazy, Luke shook his head, then added. - You both are.

- Yes, Lorelai agreed. - You're not a Gilmore without a little amount of insanity in the mix.

- Alright. I'll deal with these. You go start packing and I'll be right inside when I'm done.

Lorelai nodded and headed into Rory's room, which, with the large amounts of books disappearing from the shelves, seemed a bit empty. Still not wanting to deal with the empty feel of the room, instead of packing up the clothes like she had promised Luke she'd do, she started pulling out book after book from the drawers and from under the bed and started filling up the empty spaces in the shelves. By the time Luke finished loading the boxes and came inside, the shelves looked just as full as they had before Rory had started packing her books.

- I thought you said you were packing, he said, as she filled the last gap in the last shelf.

- I was, but I just couldn't stand looking at all the empty shelves, so I had to do something about that before I started packing up more of her belongings.

- She's not going far, Luke pointed out. - You'll still see her every weekend.

- I know, but we were supposed to have this intense week together. We were gonna do everything that came to mind and be so linked we'd make ourselves so sick of each other by the end of it that the inevitable parting wouldn't hurt so much. Now all we have is the time left after she comes back from Friday night dinner.

- Even more the reason to finish up the packing quickly, so you can actually have that mother daughter evening when she comes back, Luke told her.

- You're right, Lorelai nodded.

- So, Luke said, dreadingly looking at the closet. - Anything I can pack that doesn't involve undergarments?

- Well, you could go to the linen closet and grab a couple of towels and sheets.

- How do I know which ones are hers?

- Trust me, if there's one thing you can tell in this house is whose sheets you see.

Luke nodded and left the room, while Lorelai started packing the items she knew Rory would hate for Luke to see.

- _The less fruity ones are Rory's_, Luke asked from the hallway.

- You got it, Lorelai called back.

Luke returned with three towels and two sets of sheets just as Lorelai closed the last underwear drawer.

- Where do you want me to put these, he asked her.

- Just grab a bag, she answered, as she opened the closet.

- You're packing her stuff in Hefty bags?

- Hey, she's lucky I even have these in the house.

- If you needed luggage, you should've asked me, Luke told her.

- You have luggage, Lorelai asked, surprised.

- Yes, I have luggage. Why wouldn't I have luggage?

- Well, you never go anywhere.

- I just went on a seven-country cruise, Luke pointed out.

- That's right, you did. How was it?

- How was what, Luke asked, avoiding her gaze as he put the towels and sheets in the bag.

- Um, the cruise we were just talking about?

- Oh it was, you know.

- Actually I don't, Lorelai said as she folded up a pair of pants, putting them in a new bag. - I've never been on a cruise.

- It was fine, he shrugged.

- So, what did you do? Did you have fun, she asked. - You and... Nicole?

She added the last part with some difficulty.

- Well, it was, you know, good, he said avasively. - Hey, if you want I can make a quick trip home and pick up some luggage.

- I think we'll manage fine without it, Lorelai told him. - Why are you avoiding my questions?

- Why do you wanna know?

- You're my friend, friends tell each other these things. I would tell you.

- Well, I wouldn't want to know.

- Why don't you wanna tell me you and Nicole are married, Lorelai finally asked, getting to the point.

- How, how did you know that, Luke sputtered.

- You of all people should know nothing stays secret in this town for long, Lorelai pointed out before elaborating. - Miss Patty's phone picked up your phone call with Nicole.

- The whole town knows?

- Pretty much, she nodded. - Luke, why didn't you want to tell me?

- There's nothing much to tell.

- I beg to differ. Vowing to spend the rest of your life with someone _is_ a pretty big deal.

- It's not a big deal because Nicole and I are getting a divorce.

- _What,_ Lorelai exclaimed in surprise. - I need to sit down.

- It just all happened so fast, Luke explained, taking a seat next to her on the bed.

- You're telling me?

- You're on this boat in the middle of nowhere, Luke explained. - And everything's moving and you feel weird all the time. There's this endless supply of food and drink. Oh, and midnight buffets, by the way, are the reason the rest of the world hates us. And everyone around us was either in love, engaged, or celebrating their hundredth wedding anniversary...

- So, a lot of mummies on your trip, Lorelai joked.

- Well, Luke chuckled. - Yeah... and we were having a good time... and, well, there you go.

- There _you_ go, Lorelai emphathised.

- Of course, Luke continued. - The next morning we both woke up and realized we'd lost our minds. We tried to ignore it for awhile, you know, went snorkeling, but by the time we hit land, we were separated, and now we're getting divorced.

- Man, the combination of my jet lag, your love life and junior deciding to do gymnastics is making me dizzy.

- So, he's kicking?

- He, she, whatever I have growing inside me's kicking to the big gold medal. Hey, what is European football called?

- You mean, Soccer?

- Yeah, that's it. I must've been in Europe too long or something, 'cause this one, she said, patting her stomach. - Is clearly dreaming of making a career in Soccer.

Luke was about to answer, when Lorelai's phone started ringing.

- Hello, she answered.

- _She's taken me hostage_, Rory exclaimed in the other end.

- What?

- _She's not letting me leave. Dinner lasted an hour. She didn't even put the soufflé in the oven until we'd already finished, and now we're watching taped ballroom dancing competitions that date back to the 1800's._

- What? Wait, you haven't left yet?

- _Are you listening to me? I can't leave. She won't let me leave ever. This is Iran in '79 and you are Jimmy Carter. What do we do?_

- I could go without the Jimmy Carter comparison, Lorelai remarked. - I can't believe my mother would do this. No wait, what am I saying? I have officially been out of the loop for too long, so I've forgotten this is _exactly_ something my mother would do.

- _Welcome back, can we please focus on what_ we're _gonna do?_

- Looks like I'm gonna have to make an appearance. This is all about _me_ bailing out of dinner, so hopefully if I show up, she'll let you go.

- _Okay, but come quickly because she's got a lot of tapes and they rewind really slow._

- Heading for the batmobile as we speak, Lorelai said as she hung up and turned to Luke. - So, I have to go get Rory.

- Everything okay, he asked, worriedly.

- Just the usual, Lorelai shrugged. - My mother's a psycho, she's holding Rory hostage until I make an appearance, so I have to go to Hartford. If you could load up the rest while I'm gone, it would be great.

- Do you want me to drive you?

- No that's okay, I'll take the jeep. If you're done before Rory and I get back, just put the key in the turtle when you leave.

- Ok, so tomorrow...

- Me and Rory will come in for breakfast, then we'll all head off.

- Okay, good.

- Thank you so much for doing all this, putting up with us like this. You're really going up and beyond for us.

- Yeah, well, he shrugged. - Rory's worth it.

Lorelai smiled and nodded.

- Yeah, she sighed. - She is.

TBC


	34. There is no winning with Emily Gilmore

AN: Thanks to Steph for betaing. Are you all amazed I got this out _before_ the week was up? I don't know how I managed that either. I really thought this was gonna be the Jess chapter all over again, but strangely enough it went a lot easier than I had expected :) Don't be sure that I'll be as quick with the next one, cause let me tell you my schedual is madly hectic!

AN2: It's shorter than usual, but that happens... lol

**La Rose Bleue** - Wow, wow, WOW. No, you're _not_ a horrible person, so stop with the self-flaggelation, ok? It's not a very productive activity. Stick to writing okay, cause I'm dying to read yours, lol. And about not knowing what to say, seriously, what you said in that review, that made my day, ok. So don't think for even a second that you don't know how to review. Honestly the best reviews positive or negative, they all come from the heart. Thank you for all the compliments, you're fantastic too. Seriously. And thank you so much for supporting me fully on everything like you are. I do believe you're the first one who isn't spoiled on any future happenings who's said anything like that. There will be no throwing of tomatos, I've actually grown to like them a bit (shhh, don't tell anyone, that would ruin my rep). I will however throw more story, so there you go ;)

**fee-kh** - Wow, this is confidence-booster day. Yes, whenever I enter a new domain with stories I get one or two people complaining about my format, but people tend to adapt easily and it never brought me any trouble, until I was rejected by BWR, yup, people, you're reading a BWR-reject. Run, run, spare yourself the pain, cause this story did not get the "quality stamp"... lol. I try my best to ridd myself from spelling errors, but nobody's perfect (is this where I should say: I'm nobody?) I'm glad you feel that the show's adapted well, cause that means I reached one of my goals. 1) Confuse everyone until they don't know if Lorelai's pregnant or not. 2) Adapt the show into my story. I'm glad you like the Jess confrontation, yes Rory could've said some good things too, but she's never "been" him, meaning the rebel-thing. So in my opinion, Lorelai was the one to straighten him out. LMAO, funny visual, I love that movie. I used to watch it while I was little and I honestly believed for a little while because of that movie that babies came from kissing... you know, since they showed them kissing, then they had the whole sperm/egg animation, lol. I know better now, I'm cured... lol. Yes, kudos to Brooke for writing all of Luke's possible thoughts. Thank you, I'm gonna have a blast in UK and bring back lots of spirit so that I can write a lot afterwards... lol. But first I'm gonna have dad visiting tomorrow, so that'll be great.

* * *

It was funny how when one was looking forward to something, it seemed like everything stood still, but when one dreaded something, time would just fly by. Lorelai felt as though it had been mere minutes since she got into her car, when she found herself pulling into the Gilmore driveway. She turned the engine off and let her hand run over her stomach, as she just stared up at the house. On the way there, she'd tried thinking out what to say when she saw her parents, which was stupid really. If she couldn't figure out how to tell them the months she spent in Europe, how big of a difference would half an hour do? Or the minutes she sat in the car?

- Hey junior, she whispered to the dormant baby, while continuing to rub her stomach. - I know you're probably sleeping in there now, but I feel it's my duty as your mother to let you out of everything you don't want to do. Your sister's already trapped in there, but _you_ still have a chance. So, do you want me to go in and tell your grandmother about your existance? Kick once for yes or just keep on sleeping if you want me to just turn around and leave.

She was about to reach for her purse and retrieve her car keys, when the baby delivered a fairly strong kick to her bladder.

- _Traitor_, she scowled. - Man, now I _really_ have to pee.

With nature calling, she finally got out of the car and walked up to the entrance. It took two rings before the maid opened.

- Hi, Lorelai told her. - I'm Lorelai Gilmore, I'm here to pick up my daughter. Can you tell me where I might find her?

- Young Ms Gilmore's in the den with Mrs Gilmore, the maid answered. - Do you want me to get her?

- No, Lorelai replied, knowing her mother wouldn't just let Rory go and she wasn't about to put the poor, unsuspecting maid in the middle of it all. - That's okay, I think I can find her myself.

- Alright, the maid replied.

- Listen...

- Gerta, the maid supplied.

- Gerta, Lorelai repeated. - How long have you worked here, Gerta?

- A month, come next Thursday, miss.

- Well done, Lorelai said, amazed. - Most of my mother's maids don't event last a week. She must really like you.

- Well, thank you, miss.

- I feel I should tell you something, Lorelai told the maid. - See, my mother doesn't exactly know about my _situation_ here and although she usually takes all her disappointments out on me, she always seems to have a little something left over for the help. And I have a feeling tonight will be particularly bad, so if you care even a little about your job, you might want to think about staying clear of my mother, at least until you have to come back to work tomorrow.

- Alright, the now slightly nervous maid replied.

Lorelai would've tried cheering up the poor, unsuspecting maid, hadn't it been for the baby's decision to use her bladder as a squeaky toy. Dashing for the bathroom, she made it just in time to avoid an unfortunate accident that surely would've given her mother even more ammo than she already had. After washing and drying off her hands, she examined herself in the mirror. It was painfully obvious that she was pregnant and she knew it would be especially noticeable for her mother since she'd been gone for months and the last image Emily had of her had been her slim figure back at Rory's graduation.

Also, with Rory's plea of her coming to get her had come so sudden, Lorelai had forgotten she was still sporting her _'Baby says: No Touchy'_ maternity shirt that she'd paraded around town the day before. So even if the bulge wasn't painfully obvious in itself, the shirt would surely fill in the blanks.

Already having entered the Gilmore residence, there was nothing to be done about anything and after a five minute staredown with herself in the mirror, Lorelai was slowly making her way to the den, where she heard the sound of the TV along with the muffled voices of her mother and her daughter. Mentally giving herself another push, she skipped knocking and just opened the door.

- Hey, she said, plastering a smile on her face, awaiting the judgement.

- Mom, hi, Rory exclaimed, faking her surprise.

- So, Lorelai continued, noticing Emily staring at her belly, but ignoring it the best she could. - This is where you're hiding out.

- What are you doing here, Emily asked, clearly pretending not to have seen anything yet.

- Well my errands were all done and I was in the neighborhood, so I thought to myself, I wonder what's happening at the Gilmore house.

- We're watching National Ballroom Dancing competitions, Rory replied, failing to mask how much she'd rather be anywhere else.

- Really, Lorelai said. - You know, that sounds fun. Mind if I watch with you?

- I don't think you'd enjoy it, Emily quickly replied.

- Oh, I'm sure I would, Lorelai insisted, slightly wondering how long it would take her mother to lose her cool and start reprimanding.

- Well, Emily snapped. - You've already missed the beginning.

- I'm betting you could catch me up.

- Rory, Emily said, turning to her granddaughter. - Would you go ask Gerta if she would make me some tea?

- Um, Rory said, looking back and forth between her grandmother and her mother.

- It's okay, kid, Lorelai told her. - If you could ask her to get me some water, juice or maybe a coffee, I'd really appreciate it.

- Okay, Rory replied, slightly unsure, as she got up and left the room.

- You're drinking coffee, Emily asked her.

- Yes, I am, Lorelai answered, honestly, receiving only silence. - So, um, what's new?

- Well, Emily replied. - You obviously weren't just in the neighborhood, so why don't you tell me what you're doing here?

- I.., Lorelai started.

- I mean, Emily interrupted. - You clearly weren't coming to inform me of my impending grandchild. You came to get Rory.

- Well, mom, she's been here for _hours_. Patty Hearst had a shorter incarceration.

- She's not being held hostage, Lorelai. I resent that. She's spending time with me, something you obviously don't want to do.

- Oh, mom, Lorelai sighed. - My not coming to dinner had nothing to do with my not wanting to come. There were tons of errands that needed doing and the only way to finish in time was for me to blow of dinner to do so.

- Oh, sure, _errands_, Emily rolled her eyes. - Like I haven't heard that one before.

- In case you've forgotten, Rory goes off to college tomorrow.

- I know she goes off to college tomorrow. I happen to have an excellent memory.

- Well, that makes one of us. Rory wrote the date down wrong and because of that, instead of the week we had planned, we only got one day. Make that half a day, since Friday night dinner turned into a never ending dinner party and a show, to get everything she needed as well as packing everything. I had to cancel my doctors appointment that I had made for today, that's how little time we had. You want to know when my last check-up was? Paris. And I'm not talking about our departure.

- Lorelai Gilmore, you can be so inconsiderate, Emily exclaimed.

- What are you talking about, Lorelai groaned.

- You knowing for months that you were pregnant.

- Of course I've known for months! You think I woke up all of a sudden with a bump for a stomach and only then put two and two together?

- You didn't even tell me, Lorelai!

- What am I doing right now, hiding it? Is my shirt maybe saying _'No baby here, look somewhere else'_?

- And what were you doing all those months you were keeping this from me?

- Oh, I don't know, backpacking around Europe?

- I meant before that.

- There _was_ no before that! You hear me? I found out in frickin' Paris, alright?

- You could have called me, Emily exclaimed.

- Oh yeah, because you would've loved hearing this on a trans-Atlantic call. I can hear the lecture on the proper time to deliver the news, already.

- Then you should have found out sooner, Emily firmly stated.

- I can't believe this!

- If you saw your doctor regularly, like you're supposed to, he would have seen this sooner. And not... how far along were you when you found out?

- Four months, Lorelai sighed.

- Four _months_, Emily exclaimed. - How could you let it take _four months_?

- Easy. Have sex, wait four months, then boom! There you go.

- Lorelai, be serious.

- I was under a lot of stress, mom. The Inn catching fire, trying to run it afterwards on minimal staff, franticly trying to get funding for Yale. I don't think I paid any attention to myself for the last two months, so there, that's the reason, mother. Take it or leave it.

Emily didn't answer and Lorelai didn't have anything to add.

- I got your tea, grandma, Rory said, announcing her presence. - I couldn't find Gerta anywhere, so I made it myself. I hope that's alright.

- What do you mean, you couldn't find her, Emily exclaimed. - That woman is impossible. I'm firing her tomorrow.

Lorelai groaned. Apparently there was no winning when it came to Emily Gilmore.

- You ok, mom, Rory asked. - I mean, I got you coffee.

- Actually, Lorelai replied. - I'm exhausted. We should really go.

- Is that okay, grandma, Rory asked Emily.

- Well, Emily sighed. - I guess we wouldn't want your mother falling asleep at the wheel, would we.

- Thanks grandma, Rory grinned, giving her grandmother a hug. - I'll make sure she gets home safely.

Lorelai's eyes met Emily's for a moment.

- Thanks, mom, she said.

TBC


	35. Moving to Yale

AN: Ok, so I hope it's allright for you that the individual shotouts I usually do will be kept to a minimum. I'm pretty sure you're wondering what happened. Well, I went to the Firefly convention and I had a blast, got home and immediately got ill. Sore throat, runny nose and eyes. And to top it all, I come home, as I said I would, with loads of writing spirit, however it's Simon/Kaylee related writing spirit (my favourite FF couple). I met the two actors playing Simon and Kaylee (Sean Maher and Jewel Staite) this weekend and they were incredible. I dressed up as Kaylee on Saturday and Jewel kept petting the teddybear on my knee for good luck. I got a hug from both Jewel and Sean. After the costume competition when I went over to talk to Sean, his assistant told me they had just been _talking about me_. And the most amazing part, Sean and Jewel shared a _kiss_ at the closing ceremony (picture your reaction if Lauren and Scott had done that and double it and you had my reaction. I even made an artwork of the pictures... lol), which made my heart even _more_ soar for Simon/Kaylee. However, I am a person who sticks to what I start, so I am _not_ abandoning you, despite the soaring SK ideas in my head. Plus, I love writing "Comfort Food" and I plan on doing a lot of things with it. Maybe when I get myself back up on my feet I can run a dual project, write on Comfort Food as well as a SK fic, but until then I'm sticking with Comfort Food. I might start posting all my Firefly fiction here (stuff I've already written), so don't get discouraged if you see me adding other stories here, those are ones I finished several months ago, I've just been too lazy to bring them to ff dot net just yet... lol 

AN2: I know some of you don't like that I use part of the show dialogue, but I had to for this chapter too. I've changed a lot of it though, plus added origianl scenes, so it should be alright. Also, I have a feeling this is my longest frickin' chapter of this story so far. So that should make up for not updating for 16 days... 

**smileyGGfan** - Jealous of you because of the set tour. I'll probably never get the chance to do that. But hey, I met my favourite Firefly couple, so who am I to complain? lol. I'm loving my life! (PS: Read chapter 34... lol) 

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - I know what you mean about Emily's reaction, but when I started writing it just happened like that... lol 

**Cappuchino2go** - Happy to be inflicting torture... lol, it'll make the good stuff even better, don't you agree?

* * *

- Stop, stop, Lorelai called out to her daughter as they were about to enter the diner. 

- What, Rory asked, stopping midway in the door. 

- I have to capture this moment. Rory Gilmore's final breakfast at Luke's. 

- Mom, I'm going to Yale, not moving to Guam. There'll be plenty of breakfasts here still. 

- Oh, no. Not the same, you'll be in college. There'll be no more quick bites before running after the school bus in your cute little uniform, weighed down by a ton of books. 

- Be good and I might consider putting it on from time to time and do a little re-enactment for you. 

- Promise, Lorelai asked. 

- I promise. 

- You know I packed it for you? 

- You did _not_. 

- Uh, I did. 

- Why on earth would you pack my Chilton uniform? 

- You never know what you'll need in college. What if there's a crazy sorority initiation ritual that requires a school uniform, then you'll be happy I was considerate enough to think of that moment. 

- I think if that was the case, I'd stay away from said sorority, Rory pointed out. 

- Okay, one hurdle at the time, Lorelai shrugged. - Now pose, but try to make it look candid. 

- You're being completely insane with the camera today, Rory commented as she posed. 

- Hah, aren't _you_ sorry you used all the crazy remarks about the camera back when I got it. 

- Nope, you were pretty much crazy back then, too. 

- Man, Lorelai exclaimed, looking at the screen. - It _looks_ posed. 

- That's because it _is_ posed, Rory sighed, having had the exact same conversation back at the house. 

- Let me take another one. 

- Mom, no. We're already late, so lets grab breakfast while we still have some time. 

- Fine, Lorelai sighed, following her daughter into the diner. - Hey _Lucas_... 

Rory found herself a seat by the counter, but Lorelai stopped dead in her tracks. 

- Jess, she stated. 

- Uncle Luke, they're here, Jess called out, as he took the coffee pot, making the rounds, skillfully ignoring Lorelai's gawping expression. 

Albeit she had seen Jess just days before and was well aware that he was back, it felt slightly odd that the boy was _here_, meaning the diner. She began to wonder why the subject of Jess hadn't appeared in her and Luke's conversations so far. But thinking back at their few encounters since her and Rory's return just days before, she realized she had been a bit too pre-occupied with the focus on her new pregnancy and Luke's new maritial status. Watching the rebel calmly pouring refills for the customers, questions started forming in her mind. Was he living here? Working here? Was he _really_ going back to school? 

Her trail of thoughts were interrupted as Luke came out from behind the curtain. 

- You're early, he remarked, picking up his ordering pad and pen. 

- What are you talking about, Lorelai pondered. - We said we were coming at eight, it's eight fifteen. 

- I didn't expect you until eight thirty, Luke replied. 

- But then we'd have no time for breakfast, Lorelai pointed out. 

- Exactly, Luke said, pulling out two large brown paper bags, handing one to each of them. 

- My, grandma, what mighty large bags you've got, Lorelai joked, rummaging through hers. - Ugh, I got two apples, some uneatable green goo, I'm suspecting it's some form of a salad. Oooo, yay a couple of pancakes, albeit chocolate-less, some brown goo... 

- That's oatmeal, Luke pointed out. 

- ...some _uneatable_ brown goo, Lorelai corrected, looking over at her daughter. - What did you get? 

- Sausages, each wrapped in a pancake, tied together with bacon, Rory said, not even looking into her bag. 

- No way, Lorelai exclaimed in disbelief. 

- Way, Rory replied. - Luke called this morning asking what to make. 

- And you couldn't take five seconds to ask me what I wanted, Lorelai asked, feigning a shock. 

- You were still in the shower, Rory shrugged. 

- I can still order from the shower, Lorelai pouted. 

- Not whilst singing _Lady Marmalade_ at the top of your lungs, you can't, Rory pointed out. 

- Because of that, we're sharing yours, Lorelai said, determinedly. 

- No way, stick to your own bag, Rory replied, hugging hers close to her chest. 

- You can't keep your eye on the bag as well as the road, Lorelai pointed out. 

- That settles it, Rory replied. - You're riding with Luke. 

- You would kick me out of your own car? 

- For the sake of keeping my precious breakfast intact, yes I would, Rory nodded. 

- Your own mother. The woman who _birthed_ you, Lorelai empathized. 

- It's a _really_ good breakfast, Rory shrugged. 

- Fine, Lorelai pouted. - Hey, Luke. Where's the coffee? 

- Coming, Luke replied, fetching two take-out cups. 

- If I'm to eat this joke you call breakfast, you're giving me real coffee, Lorelai demanded. 

- Fifty-fifty's as far as I'll go, Luke countered. 

- Only if I get bacon, Lorelai said, stubbornly. 

- Do you know how much fat's in that junk? 

- Bring the charts to the car if you insist on telling me, Lorelai replied. 

Luke rolled his eyes as he quickly fried a couple of slices of bacon, that he added to Lorelai's bag. In the meantime, Jess had filled up Lorelai and Rory's to-go cups. However, no matter how much Lorelai tried bribing him, Jess still had filled her cup up half'n half. Rory was already in her car, putting her coffee in the cupholder next to her seat, when Luke came out of the diner, carrying Lorelai's bag. Only after checking that the bacon had made it's way into the bag did Lorelai take her seat next to Luke in the truck. He waited to even start the truck until she was sitting comfortably with the seat belt on. 

Lorelai could remember the last time Luke had given her a ride. It had been the night her father collapsed and she'd suffered a panic attack at the diner, not knowing what to do other than the fact that she had to get herself to Hartford in some way. Luke had stepped up, calmed her down. He'd closed down the diner, listened to her ranting about her bad relationship with her father, how Luke wasn't driving fast enough. He'd comforted her when she was scared for her dad and also when she was crying with relief that her father was in fact alright. The memory, mixed with the events of the last few days made her squirm in her seat and she decided to try to take her mind of it. 

- So, she said. - Jess is working for you again? 

- I needed someone to help out Ceasar while I help you with the move. Jess was there, he shrugged. 

- So is he staying with you? 

- No, Luke replied. - I mean, I offered. He seems like he's looking to change, but he insisted to stay on his own. 

- So, is he really going back to Stars Hollow High? 

- No, Luke shook his head. 

- I knew it, Lorelai exclaimed. - I knew he was lying about going back to school. I can't believe I fell for it. I mean, how stupid am I? He's lied to us before. 

- Jess is re-taking his senior year in New Haven, Luke elaborated. - We haven't talked much, but I called the school to confirm. He's starting next week. I offered to help him find a place, but he's already worked it out. He's working part time at a small book-store near the school and staying in the apartment above it. 

- Wow, Lorelai said. - For some reason I just can't see it. It feels a bit too structured to be Jess' thing. 

- Well he loves to read and he actually seems serious about finishing school. I guess seeing Jimmy gave the boy some perspective, Luke shrugged. 

- I guess when you are faced with what you might become it can become some sort of a wake-up call, Lorelai shrugged, leaving out the talk she had with Jess before he had left. 

- Yeah, I guess. 

- So, Lorelai said. - New Haven, huh? 

- Don't worry, Luke assured her. - I've talked to him and he knows what'll happen if he hurts her in any way. 

- Did the words _'decapitation'_ and _'hedge clippers'_ make an appearance in that talk of yours? 

- Yes, Luke confirmed. 

- Alright then. 

The conversation faded as Lorelai felt her tummy rumble and opened up her breakfast bag. Having promised she would take on the whole content, she started with the apples, then moved on to quickly forcing down the salad, followed by the oatmeal, so that she was left with the _good stuff_. Opposed to the previous items, she took her time eating the pancakes and bacon and despite the full feeling in her stomach, she refused to stop eating until she had consumed every single bit of both the pancakes and bacon. Just as the last drop of coffee followed her breakfast, Luke pulled into what had to be the best parking spot she'd seen at Yale. Even her parents, when they had visited campus the year before, hadn't found that good of a space. 

As there conveniently was a free space right behind the now parked truck, Lorelai got out to make sure it stayed vacant until Rory arrived. 

After what felt like an hour's wait, but probably was no longer than five, maybe ten minutes, Rory pulled up her car right behind the truck. 

- Nice score, Rory exclaimed, as she made her way out of the car. 

- Thank you, Lorelai grinned. - Later on I'll point out the seven or so fellow Yalies who already hate you because your obnoxious mother wouldn't let them park in the _only_ open spot left. 

- Great, Rory rolled her eyes. - Just what I need. 

- Hi, a girl making her way towards them called out. - Name? 

- Um, hi, Lorelai said, all of a sudden nervous that she might've already gotten her daughter into trouble. - I was told it was okay to hold the spot. Some guy told me, I forget his name... He had, uh... some kind of jacket... 

- It's okay, the girl shrugged. - I was just wondering what out newcomer's name is. 

- Rory Gilmore, Rory replied. 

- Lets see... Rory Gilmore, the girl said, checking her list. - Rory Gilmore... there you are. Welcome to Yale. 

The two girls shook hands. 

- Oh, hold the shake, Lorelai asked. - Hold the shake. 

- Mom, Rory sighed. 

- Just a second, lens cap, lens cap, Lorelai muttered, ignoring Luke's amused look. 

- Sorry, Rory told the girl. 

- They all do this, the girl assured her as they took their pose. 

- Alright, Lorelai said, with her camera ready. - Shake. Got it. So... who are you? 

- I'm Tess, the girl replied. - I'm Rory's freshman counselor. I'll be living in the building and be there for whatever she needs. 

- And you look twenty-one, Lorelai pointed out. - Convenient for beer runs. 

Lorelai didn't fail to notice Luke rolling his eyes and grinned. 

- I'll be holding a tour for Durfee girls, Tess told Rory, ignoring Lorelai's last comment. - You should not miss it. 

- Oh, I know, Rory replied. - Tour's at twelve, followed by the optional express lunch twelve to two, which is all followed by the telecommunications orientation and internet ID distribution, parents' reception eleven to one. 

- You, you memorized the schedual, Tess pointed out, slightly weirded out. 

- Yeah, Lorelai said, butting in. - She's not weird or anything. She just has a good memory. 

- And I see you brought your own mattress, Tess remarked. 

- Right, Lorelai replied. - See, the guy... name's still to come. Three syllables. Anyways, he said it was okay. He had, like, a mustache. 

- It's allowed, Tess told them. - As long as you make arrangements to dispose of the one that was already there. Did you do that? 

- Yes we did, Lorelai nodded. 

- Yes, Rory agreed, though not quite as convinced. 

- Good, Tess said. - Get your camera ready. 

- Why, Lorelai asked, confused. 

- I'm giving Rory her key. 

- Right, thanks for the warning. 

- See you at the tour, Tess told Rory before heading off to meet another freshman. 

- Yes, thank you, Rory replied. 

- Okay, Lorelai said. - So lets go find your room. 

- You did make arrangements to get rid of the old mattress, right, Rory asked her. 

- Of course I did, Lorelai replied. - I can't believe you have so little confidence in me. 

- Okay, Rory said, making her way to the entrance. 

- You didn't call the mattress guys did you, Luke silently asked Lorelai as the two of them followed. 

- It might've slipped my mind, Lorelai admitted, determinedly ignoring Luke's amused expression. 

- It says here, Rory said, as they made their way into the building. - That you're supposed to make arrangements to have the old mattress picked up _before_ arrival. 

- Great, Lorelai sighed. - Alright hon, I didn't call the mattress guys, but we can take it ourselves. Luke can carry it. 

- What, Luke exclaimed. 

- Please Luke, Lorelai begged. - I'd do it myself, but you and Rory wouldn't let me. 

- Fine, he sighed. 

- There, Lorelai told her daughter. - It's arranged. 

- Okay, Rory replied, already back to being engrossed in the pamphlet in her hand. 

Lorelai grabbed the keys and unlocked the door, stepping inside. 

- Just like I pictured it, she remarked. - A fireplace, too! You know, I wonder if it's wood burning. 

- Did you see an emergency exit, Rory asked, nervously. - It says here, _'upon arrival, please take note of the emergency exits.'_

- Hey, we could burn the mattress in here, save us a trip, Lorelai suggested, ignoring Rory's question. 

- The emergency exits are out in the hallway, Luke told Rory. - I saw the signs. 

- Aw, man, Rory exclaimed as she pulled a bit too hard on her pamphlet, tearing the map. - My map just ripped off. 

- Which one's your room, Lorelai asked Rory, receiving no answer. 

- I'm missing Old Campus, Rory whined. 

- _R.G._ This is it, Lorelai announced. 

- If I have Old Campus activities today, I'm screwed, Rory exclaimed. 

- Wow, Lorelai sighed. - Here it is. Here's where you're going to be thinking all those impressive thoughts. It's just waiting for your decorative stamp. 

She smelled the musty air. 

- And maybe a little air freshener, she decided. 

- Where's the phone jack, Rory muttered, apparently not hearing anything Lorelai said. 

- I don't know, Jack, Lorelai remarked. - Where is the pesky phone? 

- Mom, Rory sighed. 

- You're being one-note Nancy today, Lorelai sighed. 

- Ooo, Rory exclaimed, her nose back in the pamphlet. - Here's a place to get replacement maps. Aw, holy cow, it's in _Old Campus!_

- Alright, Lorelai announced, grabbing Rory's arm, pulling her with her out of the room, leaving an amused Luke behind. - That's it. 

- Hey, what are you doing, Rory exclaimed. 

- You just missed it, Lorelai sighed. 

- Missed what, Rory asked, confusedly. 

- Walking into your dorm room suite for the first time, Lorelai pointed out. - Do over! 

- What, Rory exclaimed. - We're short on time here and we haven't even begun unloading. 

- Doesn't matter, Lorelai said, determinedly. - You are gonna be in the moment for this. 

- Mom, Rory sighed. 

- No, Lorelai replied. - No _'mom'_-ing me. You're gonna be in the moment, or I swear the rest of the map gets it. 

- No, Rory objected. - I'm here, I'm here. Please don't hurt the map. 

- You swear? 

- I swear. 

- Good, Lorelai said. - Now, look here. This must be your suite, hon. 

- I can't wait to see it, Rory replied. 

- Then lets do so. 

- Wow, Rory sighed as she took in the sight of the room. 

- Good, right? 

- This is so cool, Rory sighed. - My own space. 

- Well, you and, Lorelai said, reading the initials of the door. - P.G.'s and J.B.'s and T.S.'s. 

- And a fireplace, Rory exclaimed. - Did you see the fireplace? 

- Was this do over justified or what, Lorelai asked, putting her arm around her not so little girl. 

- You mentioned thoughts in here, Rory asked as they made it into her bedroom. 

- Yes, Lorelai nodded. - All the great ones you're gonna have. 

- Hmm, Rory said, wrinkling her nose. - And air freshener? 

- That too. 

- Thanks for putting me in the moment, Rory murmured, resting her head on her mother's shoulder. 

- My pleasure, kid, Lorelai replied, softly. 

- Definitely something I wouldn't want to miss, Rory determined. 

- Good, Lorelai murmured. - And thank you. 

- For what? 

- For not pretending that you're not at this moment thinking about missing your tour, finding your phone jack, navigating the Old Campus. 

- It's my gift to you, Rory muttered. 

- Ok, Lorelai chuckled. - Let's go unload and get you a new map. 

- Bless you! 

As Lorelai made it to the main entrance, a boy around Rory's age held the door open for her. 

- Thank you, Lorelai said, taking in the boy's appearance. - My, you look strong. Are you strong? 

- _Mom_, Rory hissed. 

- Hey we can't have poor Luke do everything, Lorelai shrugged. - I'm sure he won't mind. 

And true enough, Lorelai didn't even have to ask before the boy, or Thomas as he was called, offered to help them carry the more heavy objects from the truck to Rory's room. With the exception of minor things like a lamp shade that had fallen off, a bag of beauty supplies and so on, Lorelai was restricted to holding the door open for them. 

- You know, she told Rory as they instructed Luke and Thomas on where to put the furniture. - I should get pregnant every time you move. People are just so damn helpful when you're pregnant. 

Rory chuckled as she started setting up the books in the shelves that Luke and Thomas already had set up. When the last item was put down and Lorelai and Rory were unpacking Rory's clothes, Lorelai pretended she didn't see Luke opening his wallet, pulling out a crisp twenty to pay Thomas for his help. 

- What time is it, she asked her daughter, when the last box was emptied and the room actually gave a slightly more homey feel to it. 

- Shoot, it's a quarter to twelve, I've got to run, Rory exclaimed. - Do you know where you're gonna go for that parental orientation? 

- I have plenty of time to figure that out, Lorelai replied. - Go. Me and Luke will be fine and we'll meet you back here after your things. 

- Okay, Rory replied, taking off. 

- What was that about, Luke asked, coming back into the room from having helped Thomas with carrying a couple of things. 

- Rory's running late for her tour. We're meeting her here afterwards. 

- When's that? 

- Two, three-ish, Lorelai shrugged. - In the meantime I have this parental orientation to go to. Wanna come with? 

- Oh, I don't know, Luke said, reluctantly. - Isn't that for the actual parents? 

- Come on, Luke. It's probably gonna be completely boring, you can't make me go alone to that. 

- What a way to advertise for it, Luke deadpanned. 

- What I meant, it's gonna be boring if I go by myself. If you would come with me, then it'd proably be fun. Come on, Lorelai begged. - What else are you gonna do here? Help some more college kids move into their dorms? 

- Fine, Luke sighed. - I'll go. 

- Thank you, Lorelai grinned. - Now, it's not for another hour, but we'll probably need some time finding the room, plus we can look around campus for a bit. 

- Alright, Luke nodded. 

With surprisingly minimum questions on directions, it took them less than half an hour to find the room where the orientation were to be held, which meant they had some more time to kill. So Lorelai decided they could investigate the immediate area. As she passed the library she saw a small kiosk and the smell of coffee reached her nostrils. Despite Luke's many protests, Lorelai ordered herself a cup of real coffee. 

- You know, Lorelai said, after sipping the coffee. - It's too bad you don't drink coffee. Cause then you wouldn't have to just take my word for it. It doesn't rival yours, but this coffee isn't half bad. Remind me to tell Rory about this place before I go. 

- We should probably be getting back, he said, ignoring the remark. - The orientation starts in ten minutes. 

They made their way back to the room, which was now unlocked and turned out to be a large lecture hall, already halfway filled up with nervous parents. Not wanting to sit at the front, Lorelai pulled Luke with her to the back and found two seats on a semi-empty aisle. 

Around ten minutes later than announced, the orientation started. And as Lorelai antisipated, if one didn't get terrified by the horrors awaiting freshmen students, one was bored to death. 

- You know, Lorelai told Luke as they were taken through a list of safety tips. - I'm almost surprised that holy water and a wooden stake didn't make the list. Or maybe a nice little crossbow. If they are gonna take us through all the dangers on campus, they might as well be thorough. 

- This isn't Sunnydale, Luke chuckled. 

- True, but they are more handy than a crusifix, which, in case you didn't hear, _did_ make the list. 

- I heard. These people are even more crazy than you, he said, dryly. 

- I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment or an insult, Lorelai replied. 

An hour that seemed to go on forever, later, the two of them made their way out of the lecture hall. For some miraculous reason, Luke managed to talk Lorelai out of making a detour to hit the kiosk for coffee, instead they went directly back to the room. 

- Rory, you back, Lorelai called out as she entered the room. 

Luke, spotting the young girl, sitting in the common area, stayed behind as Lorelai continued into Rory's room. 

- Who's that, she asked, gesticulating towards the strange girl. 

- I don't know, Rory shrugged. - She just followed me in here like a puppy dog without saying a word. 

- Maybe she's lost, Lorelai suggested. 

- Or, Rory replied. - Maybe she's one of my new suitemates who I'm already off to a swell start with. 

- By the way, Lorelai said, not being able to get the parental orientation out of her head. - Do you know how vulnerable you are to venereal disease? 

- All hail to the queen of the non-sequiturs, Rory chuckled. 

- This parental orientation me and Luke went to was a nonstop litany of the horrors awaiting college freshmans, Lorelai explained. - Don't touch door handles, towels in public restrooms, even the taps are contaminated, so you might as well not wash your hands at all. Do not walk into dark alleyways or corners because you _will_ get mugged and/or raped and eventually killed. If you even _look_ at a stranger you're inviting them to stab you. 

- No looking at strangers, Rory repeated. - Got it. Is this a purely nighttime phenomena? Because I am expected to mingle with my fellow classmates. 

- Oh _no_, Lorelai shook her head. - No mingling. Mingling is prohibited. Just by saying 'hi' to someone you're saying you're open for a gang bang. You are expected to carry a whistle, a flashlight, a crusifix, and a loaded Glock with you at all times. 

- Should I invest in holy water, wooden stakes and a crossbow as well, Rory asked, feigning concern. 

- It would be wise, Lorelai nodded, placing her hand on her daughter's shoulder. 

Rory looked over Lorelai's shoulder at the girl, who still hadn't said anything. 

- We should go out there. She'll think we're hiding. 

- Okay, Lorelai nodded. - Just don't shake hands with her. Bacteria. 

- Mom, Rory chuckled. 

- Or tell her where you live, Lorelai continued. 

- Too late, Rory told her, gravely. 

- It was nice knowing you, Lorelai joked. 

They made their way over to the girl, who even with the presence of the two Gilmore's stayed quiet. 

- Say something, Lorelai suggested. 

- What? 

- Anything, Lorelai shrugged. 

- Hi, Rory said to the girl. 

- Hi, the girl replied, looking back and forth between Lorelai and Rory. - I'm adopted. 

- You're up, Rory said, turning to her mother. 

- What's your name, Lorelai asked the girl. 

- Tanna Schrick. 

- Well, Tanna Schrick, Lorelai said, smiling to Rory. - Good. We're making some progress. Hi, Tanna Schrick. I'm Lorelai, this is Rory. She'll be living here, too. 

- We're suitemates, Rory added. 

- As they're ransacking your room, Tanna replied. - Professional thieves typically start at the bottom drawer and work their way up. That way they don't have to close drawers before opening the next one. Saves time. 

- Okay, Lorelai said, drawing the word out. - So... no storing your valuables in the bottom drawer. Got that, Rory? Good tip, Tanna. Thanks. 

- I'm not so great at extemporaneous speaking, Tanna explained. - So I've memorized some quick conversational facts I can whip out at a moment's notice. When I get to know you better, I'll memorize some facts that are more specific to your persona. 

- Tanna, Lorelai said, eyeing the girl. - How old are you? 

- Sixteen, Tanna replied. 

- Sixteen, Rory asked, surprised. 

- On Tuesday, Tanna added. 

- Well, Lorelai chuckled. - Happy birthday, Doogie. 

- Thank you, Tanna smiled. 

- So, um, Lorelai continued. - Where are your parents? 

- Oh, at the hotel. Mom's napping. Dad's getting a scvitz. 

- Okay, Lorelai nodded. - Well, we still have some more stuff to do, but maybe your parents will be here when I get back. I'd love to meet them. 

- Yeah, Tanna said, excitedly. - They make a very good first impression. 

- I'm sure they do, Lorelai said, politely. - See you later kiddo. 

Lorelai made her way out to the hallway as she heard Tanna ask Rory if she was nervous. It felt like a slight relief that her daughter was as nervous about the change as she was. As she was caught up in the thoughts her daughter entered the hallway. 

- Odd, but nice, Lorelai told her. 

- I'll take her, Rory nodded. 

- So, Lorelai said, feeling a lump forming in her throat. - This is it. 

- This is it, Rory confirmed. 

- Learn a lot of stuff, Lorelai ordered. 

- I'll try, Rory promised. 

- And, uh, you know, keep in touch. 

- Well, Rory shrugged. - We'll at least exchange Christmas cards. 

- With a letter detailing what's happened over the year, Lorelai supplemented. 

- And a current photo, Rory added. 

- Don't joke, Lorelai ordered, feeling tears streaming down her cheek. 

- You started it, Rory pointed out. 

- I was masking my pain, Lorelai defended herself. 

- You'll see plenty of me, Rory promised. 

- Not enough, Lorelai croaked. 

- How about tons? 

- Better, Lorelai said, pulling her daughter into a hug. - I love you, did you know that? 

- I suspected it, Rory replied, her voice muffled by her mother's shoulder. 

They parted just as something caught Lorelai's eyes. 

- Look, Rory, she pointed. - A little fridge. 

- It's cute, Rory nodded. 

- I want one, Lorelai announced. 

- Then go get one, Rory suggested. 

- For you, Lorelai elaborated. - I want one for you. 

- I don't need one, Rory shook her head. 

- Sure you do, Lorelai pointed out. For sodas and stuff when things are closed. Like late night cram sessions. 

- I guess it would come in handy, Rory agreed. 

- Luke, Lorelai asked. - Will you be my driver? 

- I'm already your driver, Luke replied, dryly. 

- So you'll take me shopping? 

- What? 

- Yes, please take me shopping, Lorelai begged. - I can't have Rory not completely outfitted for college life when she goes to bed tonight. 

- She _is_ completely outfitted, Luke objected. 

- No, she's generally outfitted. I want her to be completely outfitted, be able to handle any form of emergency. The first night of college is a crucial night, what if she had a cooling-related emergency and she was without a fridge? 

Luke gave her a look, which made Rory chuckle. 

- You've known her long enough not to argue with her logic, Rory pointed out. 

- Fine, he sighed. - Lets go. 

Clapping her hands excitedly, Lorelai followed him out the door. 

- I'll see you in a couple of hours, she promised Rory. 

- _One_ hour, Luke corrected. 

- A couple, Lorelai countered. 

Having already heard the plan to buy a tiny fridge, Luke set course for the nearest appliance store. Being a man, it took him less than ten minutes to point out the most practical fridge with the best price. Lorelai, however wandered back and forth, looking at each of them, checking the insides as well as out. Despite Luke's many logical reasons for choosing his fridge, Lorelai still had her eye for a bright pink one with a hello kitty door handle. 

- You've got to think practical, Lorelai, Luke argued. - That thing costs twice as much, is less environmentally safe, has the shortest guarantee out of all of them. 

- But it's cute, Lorelai pointed out. 

- Buy a can of paint and Rory can make this one pink as well and it'll cost you way less. Aren't you and Sookie opening an Inn together? Between that and supporting the baby you can't afford to be spending that much money now. 

- Fine, Lorelai sighed. - But we're getting that can of paint. 

The arguement seemed to repeat itself for every item they purchased, yet they both managed to get through it in one piece. Surprisingly enough the good parking spot was available when they returned. As they got out of the truck, Lorelai recognized the girl, Tess, coming over. 

- Hi, there, Tess said. 

- Hi again, Lorelai replied. 

- Is that your mattress, Tess asked. 

- Well, yeah, Luke answered. 

- Tag has a Yale stamp, Tess pointed out. 

- Oh, um, Lorelai said, trying to figure out a good excuse without telling the complete truth. - Well we were just airing it out. Nothing like a fresh mattress, eh? We're taking it back in again, right, Luke? 

- Yeah, Luke nodded. 

- Okay, great, Tess replied, making her way towards some of her fellow students. 

- Great, Luke groaned. 

- Want me to help you with it, Lorelai asked. 

- You're not doing any lifting, Luke said, stubbornly. 

- Alright, I'll go and find Rory. 

Lorelai spotted Rory coming out of her suite. 

- Hi, Lorelai greeted her daughter. 

- Saw you coming, Rory explained. 

- What's up, Lorelai asked, slightly confused. 

- You just have to see it. 

- No, Lorelai exclaimed, as she spotted Rory's roommate. 

- Yes, Rory nodded. 

- Paris? 

- And Terrence, her life coach, Rory added. 

- Like on Oprah, Lorelai asked. 

- Yes, Rory nodded. 

- No. 

- Yes, Rory repeated. - They're setting up her crafts' corner. 

- No. 

- You really should come up with a different response, Rory remarked. 

- Lorelai, Paris exclaimed, as she spotted her. 

- Hi, Paris, Lorelai replied, trying her best to hide her unenthusiasm. - It's so good to see you. 

- Same here, Paris said, gesticulating to her life coach. - Terrence, this is Lorelai. 

- Hi, Terrence, Lorelai said, politely. 

- Nice to meet you, Terrence replied. - Finally. 

- Finally, Lorelai asked, confused. 

- You and I have a bit of a journey left to finish as well, Paris explained. 

- I'll clear my schedule, Lorelai joked, eyeing the colorfull crafts table. 

- I was just setting up my craft corner, Paris explained. - Some mosaic tiles, some colored beads. Still kind of kids' stuff, but Terrence showed me how working with my hands could help with my nerves. 

- Um, Tanna said, quietly. - Where are we gonna put the couch? 

- Why don't you just, Paris said, gritting her teeth as she showed signs of getting ready to attack the younger girl. 

- Paris, Terrence warned. 

- Come _on_, Terrence, Paris begged. 

- Two steps forward, three steps back, Terrence reminded her. 

- But she was baiting me, Paris complained. 

- Fish can choose not to bite. 

Paris sighed and turned to Tanna. 

- We'll figure it out. 

- Hi, Luke said from the doorway. 

Lorelai spotted the mattress with him. 

- You brought it back in? 

- I had to do something, Luke explained. - That Tess already had her antennae up about the mattress and she wouldn't stop watching me until I started moving it. 

- Alright, we'll wait a little bit and take it back out, Lorelai suggested. 

- It's heavy, Luke explained. - The only way I got it into the building is with help from Chip, yes it's his real name, believe it or not. For helping me with the mattress and the rest of the stuff, I have to help him with his stuff, because that was the deal. I'll be back later. 

- I guess we'll just have to bring it back in, Rory sighed. 

- _Oh no_, Paris exclaimed in the background. - _My glue gun leaked on my macaroni!_

- _Compartmentalize_, Terrence reminded her. - _And breathe._

- I'll help you, Lorelai told her daughter. 

- No, mom, you're not supposed to do anything that might strain the baby. 

- You can't possibly push that thing on your own, Lorelai reasoned. 

- Tanna, Rory called out to the younger girl, who was at the moment trying to stay out of Paris' way. 

- Yeah? 

- Wanna help me move the mattress? 

- Sure, the girl shrugged. 

Not being allowed to do the slightest thing, Lorelai sat down on the couch, alternating between watching Paris trying to control her temper and the other two girls carrying all of Lorelai's purchases. 

- A disco ball, Rory asked her. 

- Yeah, Lorelai grinned. - You should've seen Luke's face when I found it. 

- I can imagine, Rory rolled her eyes. - And why did you buy it? 

- In case you ever were to host your much-anticipated Salute to Barry White Night, Lorelai explained. 

- See, I forgot I was anticipating that. 

- Aren't you glad you have me looking out for you? 

- Very, Rory grinned. 

- Hey, Luke said, appearing in the doorway. - Are you finished? 

- Almost, Lorelai told him. 

- I'll wait in the truck, he replied. - Bye Rory. 

- Bye Luke. 

Luke gave Lorelai a pointed look as to tell her not to leave him waiting for too long. Sighing, she got up from the couch. 

- So, she said, facing Rory. - This is it. 

- This is really it, Rory replied. 

- Learn a lot of stuff, Lorelai ordered. 

- I'll try. 

- You'll be a frequent visitor? 

- It'll be like I never left. 

- You can use the washer and dryer, Lorelai supplied. 

- I don't need any inducement, Rory told her. 

- Good. 

- But don't you get rid of that washer and dryer. 

- I won't. Bye hon. 

- Bye mom, Rory replied, as the two of them pulled each other into a big hug. 

Luke was standing by the truck, when Lorelai came out. 

- You okay, he asked her, concerned. 

- My baby girl's in college, Lorelai simply replied. 

- You'll get used to it, Luke promised. 

- I hope so. 

- So we're leaving? 

- We're leaving, Lorelai nodded. 

The drive back to Stars Hollow was a silent one, Lorelai peered out of the window the whole way and only half-heartedly listened to Luke telling her about his many arguements with Chip about which end to put down first. Not even when Luke stopped the car and turned off the engine did she notice. It wasn't until she heard her beeper that she turned her gaze from the window to the beeper. 

- What's that, Luke asked her. 

- My pager, Lorelai replied, silently, reading the content. - Oh no... 

- What? 

- _'Come back'_, Lorelai sighed. 

- What, Luke repeated, confused. 

- It's from Rory. She wants me to come back. I have to go back. 

- Alright, Luke, sighed. - I'll take you. 

- What, she asked, this time being her turn to be confused. 

- Rory needs you, right? So I'm driving you back. 

- You don't have to..., Lorelai started. 

- Well, I am, Luke said, determinedly, putting the car in drive again, once more setting course for New Haven. 

Lorelai was nothing short of amazed on how much Luke actually had put up with the whole day and only with a minimal amount of complaints. As he stopped the car, and Lorelai loosened her seat belt, he put his hand on her shoulder. 

- Call me when you need me to come and get you. 

- You know, I can take a cab, or a bus. 

- Call me, Luke told her. 

Lorelai just nodded and went back into Durfee Hall. She found her daughter sitting on her new bed. 

- Rory, she asked, as her daughter jumped up, throwing her arms around her. - Whoa, honey. What is it? 

- Look at this, Rory exclaimed. 

- Look at what? 

- Four hours at Yale and I'm already homesick 

- Honey, it's okay to be homesick. 

- All I could think of the minute you left was '_I want my mommy._' I haven't thought that since I was two. 

- Sweetie, that's completely natural. 

- I'm eighteen, Rory continued. - I can sign contracts, I can vote, I can fight for my country. I mean, I'm an adult. Adults don't want their mommies. 

- Sure they do. I'm not the best example, but... 

- I'm not used to this. I've only ever shared a bathroom with you. I don't know any bathroom small talk. 

- I think '_your hair smells terrific_' should do the trick. 

- How can I become Christiane Amanpour when I'm a mama's girl? You should just learn to operate a camera, because I can't imagine you not being there. 

- I would do that, but honey, this is a transition thing. It's new for both of us and we'll just have to deal. 

- You left here without a care in the world, Rory accused. 

- You know that's not true. 

- You're replacing me with the new baby. You're starting over and I am out. 

- You really think that, Lorelai asked, silently. 

- No, Rory admitted. - I'm just trying to hate you instead of missing you. 

- Is it working? 

- Not even close, Rory cried, wrapping her arms around her. - Mom... 

- I'm here, Lorelai whispered, kissing her daughter's temple. 

- You shouldn't be, Rory muttered. 

- Where is it written? 

- It's not exactly written, but it's clearly implied that the parents are supposed to leave the campus at some point. 

- Then _we_ choose the point. 

- Can you stay for dinner, Rory asked, hopefully. 

- I can stay all night. 

- No, Rory objected. - You can't do that. Then I'm this pathetic person who needs her mommy to stay all night and everyone here will know it. 

- Then I won't stay the night. 

- No, stay the night, Rory begged. 

The two stayed within the embrace for a while, then Lorelai heard her tummy start rumbling. 

- I'm hungry, what about you? 

- Starving, Rory replied. 

- Then how about you and me order some take-out. Maybe we can invite Paris and Tanna to join us. It's not so pathetic if we hang as a group. 

- Sounds good, Rory murmured, holding on still. - You're not leaving, right? 

- No, Lorelai promised. - Not tonight. 

- Good, Rory replied, letting go. 

- Hey guys, Lorelai called out as she and Rory entered the common area. - Me and Rory were thinking of getting some take-out, any takers? Excuse the pun. 

- I'm in, Paris replied. 

- Yeah, Tanna nodded. - Sounds good. 

- Okay, Lorelai said, holding her pen ready. - What do you guys feel like? 

- Chineese, Paris replied. 

- Italian, Tanna said around the same time. 

- Indian, Rory answered just seconds later. 

- Hmm, Lorelai muttered. 

- I guess I could go for Chineese, Tanna shrugged. 

- No, Lorelai replied, a wide grin spreading over her face. - I just got the best idea. We'll have a take-out test, right here, right now. We'll order food from every place, sample them all and rate the food on what's best. Not only that we can rate them at speed of delivery and grade the delivery guys on level of cuteness. 

- I'm up for that, Paris nodded. 

- Sounds like fun, Tanna agreed. 

- Rory, you make the grading forms, Paris, get the phone book, Tanna, be ready to write down the names of the places we decide to order from, Lorelai ordered. - So where should we order from? 

- There's the Zen Garden not far from here, Paris pointed out. 

- We're getting everything delivered, not getting it ourselves, Lorelai remarked. - But okay, Tanna, put that on the list. 

- I'd like to try out Gino's Pizza, Tanna said. 

- Then put Gino's on the list. And I wanna try out Hector's Taco. 

- Mom, we've already tried out Hectors. Remember last year? We bought a ton and brought them home. 

- But things can change in a year. What if we were only so hungry we couldn't differantiate between good taco's and bad taco's, Lorelai commented. 

- You're just really craving taco's aren't you, Rory asked. 

- Extremely, Lorelai sighed. 

- Are you sure the dad's not hispanic? Would've explained a thing or two? 

- Hmm, now that you mention it, that really explains the Zorro mask I found by my bed that night, Lorelai joked. 

As Paris started plowing through the phonebook, several more take-out places made the list and by the time they finished placing all the orders, the first deliveries came knocking. Soon, the table began filling up with various dishes. 

- So how, are we gonna organize this, Lorelai asked. - Randomly? Alphabetically? 

- How about geographically, Tanna suggested. - We can organize them by land of orgin from east to west. 

- Sounds good, Rory replied. 

- Alright, Paris chimed in. 

Completely starving the four of them started digging in, Rory and Lorelai alternating on who to fetch the next take-out dish. Halfway through her second taco, it was Lorelai's turn again and she reulctantly got up. After paying for the food and reminding herself to _not_ add up what the total bill of this night would be, she returned to the room. 

- I've got Balinese, she announced. - Where does Bali go? 

- Where is Bali, Paris asked. 

- Indonesia, Rory answered. 

- Is indonesia east or west of the Philipines? 

- East, Tanna answered. 

- No, Rory shook her head. - West. 

- Near Singapore, Lorelai suggested. - We've got Singapore her somewhere. 

- Find Sri Lanka, Tanna suggested. - It's a bit over from that. 

- We don't have any Sri Lankan food, Lorelai pointed out. 

- Just put it by Vietnam Rory suggested as the phone rang again. - Where's the phone? 

- Under Mexico, Paris replied. 

- I bet it's the pizza, Lorelai said. - Come help. 

Rory reluctantly got up from the couch and followed her mother. 

- Hello, Lorelai said to the delivery guy, turning to Rory. - Eight and a half. 

- I'm sorry, the confused delivery guy asked. 

- Nothing, Rory waved off. - We just need to sign for the credit card? 

- Yes, the guy replied. 

- Thank you, Lorelai said, as she took half of the pizza boxes. 

- We're _four_ people, Rory pointed out. - And we've ordered for like four _hundred_. 

- Am I hearing that you want to crank it up? You wanna take it to the next level? 

- I'm just pointing out that there's a ton of food, Rory shrugged. 

- Attention, Durfee girls, Lorelai called out with a grin. - Food and tons of it in suite five. Bring your appetites, bring your opinions, and, um... hey, feel free to bring some music, but if it's Evanescence, you will be _severely_ mocked! 

Soon the number of girls had reached to tenfolds. Opinions started filling the lists. When no one was eating regular food anymore, they went over to rating desserts, but as the night went on the lists were more and more forgotten and it was just a large group of girls hanging out. It was late into the night before the yawns started and the group shrunk back to it's original four. Then the suitemates said goodnight. When Lorelai came out of the bathroom, Paris was just saying goodnight to her boyfriend and Rory had already made up the Yale mattress on the floor next to her bed that had the brand new mattress. 

- Mom, you sleep on the new mattress and I'll take the old, she suggested. 

- No, honey, it's your mattress and you should be the one breaking it in. 

- They're both mine, Rory pointed out. - So I get to choose. 

- But you have to break in your new mattress, Lorelai objected. - If it molds to my body, your shorter body will be wallowing in the hollowness of my body. 

- In one night, Rory asked, raising her brow. 

- It's the crucial night, that first night, Lorelai pointed out. - Plus, I'm sleeping for two, so I am much heavier and will have a bigger impact on the mattress should I borrow it. 

- Fine, but if you start feeling weird, we are switching. 

- Deal, Lorelai agreed. - Get the light, will you, hon? 

- It's right over by you, Rory pointed out. 

- Oh, okay, Lorelai chuckled. - Hey, did I tell you I found good coffee? 

- No, tell. 

- There's a little kiosk by the library. I found it on my way to that parents thing. I can circle it on the map for you. 

- Great, Rory replied. 

Lorelai laid her head on the pillow, closing her eyes. 

- Hey mom, Rory murmured. 

- Yeah? 

- Thanks for staying. 

- Anytime, kid. 

TBC 


	36. The lawyers of the round table

AN: First of all, this is to the anonymous reviewer with the many creative names. If you really hate my story that much and think I'm ripping off the show, then why on earth are you still reading my story? Seriously, you're being incredibly negative. I think I used to be you a couple of years back, I always looked on all the negative stuff about my life, now I'm cured. I'm actually a happy, cheerful person now, but this is not to comment on you or me as a person. It's about the story. Did I say in the beginning that there were going to be simillarities to the episode? Yes I did. I did not lie or hide it. Was some original dialogue used? Yes, because so many simillar things happened and I can't rewrite the whole thing, put in a different schedual just so people who doesn't want to see the show being used in fics can stay happy. And I couldn't just skip this moment in my story, because Rory going off to college is an important moment in Lorelai's life and I _had_ to write about it. I can't completely break free from the show, because not all things are under my control. I only control Lorelai directly, Luke and Rory partly. Any changes are side-effects to Lorelai's choices. I can't force you to read on. If you're looking to a magical change in the next chapter, don't bother. Check in after 10 or 15 chapters, then you should be more satisfied, but then again I don't know what you want to happen, so. But lets take a recap of the story. At this point in the show, Jess was a jerk and he was long gone. I'm not saying he's completely without jerk tendensies and I can't tell you about his future appearances. With the exception of the shock of Luke being married, Lorelai didn't view Luke as more than a friend, while in my story, she's not only in love with him (which makes the fact that he's married even harder for her and she has to hide behind a facade to deal with it), she's having his baby. Do you honestly think that once that baby is born, that things won't change? Do you think I'm just gonna hide the kid away and forget about it? I'm sorry you find my story boring and unoriginal. This isn't a quick-fix story, if you want that, then try one of the hundreds of quick-fix stories on here. Lorelai isn't saying "I love you" in the first chapter. Things aren't perfect. They are complicated and messy. I'm not gonna tell you much, but I can tell you this: Luke won't stay clueless until the end. He's going to find out. I'm not saying it's the next chapter or maybe the next ten, but he will know long before this story ends. Wanna know how many chapters I've estimated this story will have? 100 + ... I'm not even closing in on the end, pal. Frankly, I haven't even reached the middle...

**Asta-Gilmore** - Welcome to the story, wow reading the entire story from the beginning :) I love hearing when people do that :)

**Babs25** - Well Jess won't be a lot in the main storyline, but he will be mentioned now and then. Hope that's workable for ya... lol

**smileyGGfan** - lol, well we all have our events and I wouldn't trade the one I was at for even a million set tours, but I'd still love to go on the set and see it up close, that would've been awesome. Here's to hoping you see Lauren next time ;) I too would love to meet Lauren, but if someone was to ask me to trade like say my Jewel, Eliza or Clare encounter for that, then I'd probably say no. Those encounters (1 in Eliza's case, 2 in Jewel's and 3 in Clare's) mean the world to me and did something to me as a person.

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - Well, I moved away at sixteen and I have to admitt those first hours and the first night alone was weird, but I got pretty quickly used to it and don't worry, you will too. Well I know that Jewel and Sean aren't dating, cause Jewel is married... lol, has been for three years now. But for me it was just so incredible to get a live kiss between them, because that must be the only time anyone gets to see a live kiss between the two. I don't ship actors, I want them to be happy with whoever they find. So if anything happened between LG/SP, then cool, if not, then that's cool, too.

* * *

Lorelai was grateful that she'd forgotten to leave the porch light on, as this meant less view for the prying eyes of Babette. And if Babette didn't see the several bags filled with costume equipment for the party she was in midst of planning, then less likely the chance was for her or Morey or both coming over to help her carry, which again limited the amounts of questions regarding the pregnancy thrown her way, which she'd had about enough of for the next month or so. She loved her town and neighbors, but with the situation being the way it was, the idea of being constantly, though ever so unintentionally, reminded about how the situation was far from the way she wanted it to be, was too much to take for the time being.

Since moving Rory into Yale, she had only seen Luke a couple of times. But with the whole hassle of his divorce she wasn't seeing herself getting any closer to finish what she had started before she'd found out about his marrying Nicole. Also, the larger percentage of their conversation had become more and more focused on her diet and how coffee and junk food wasn't something a pregnant woman should eat. Luke had managed to sneak in a few more healthy items in her everyday meal, in exchange for upping the amount of caffeinated coffee in his special Lorelai coffee with ten percent. The remaining part of their conversation mostly featured Luke ranting about lawyers and Lorelai talking about Yale, the Inn or the town in general. While waiting for Luke to finish up her take-away meal just ten minutes ago, Lorelai had told him about Jackson's latest idea to wire the entire house to the baby monitor. Luke, of course had called it a crazy idea that only the two of them, or possibly Kirk, would come up with.

Finding it difficult to hit the keyhole with the key in the pitch black that was her front porch, Lorelai wandered around to the kitchen entrance, dropping the bags of supplies the minute she stepped in the door. Locking it behind her, she proceeded to take her food to the livingroom and sunk into the couch just as the phone on the livingroom table rang. Not bothering to check the number, she lifted it to her ear and spoke.

- My back is aching, my feet are swollen to sizes you wouldn't deem possible, unless you actually saw them, then you would report it to Guinness World of Records. And not only is your little brother or sister currently doing a Joey Jordison impression on my bladder, I am also up to my neck in capes, rings and elf ears for Aaron Thompson's Lord of the Rings party that Sookie shanghaied me into organizing. Beat that.

- _How about me returning from class only to realize Grandma broke in and redid the entire common room in 25,000 dollars worth of furniture and stereo equipment_, Rory replied.

- Seriously, that's not fair. You know you win by default if Emily Gilmore makes it into the conversation.

- _Sorry_, Rory apologized. - _I'll try to leave her out next time, so you can win whose life sucks most at the moment._

- I appreciate that, babe, Lorelai grinned. - And let me just say it.

- _Say what?_

- _Hah_, I _knew_ Emily was in your room. I told you I could smell it and you, my friend, dismissed me.

- _I'd apologize, but you'd just keep on going like the Energizer Bunny_, Rory sighed. - _So what's this I'm hearing about elf ears?_

- Well this morning me and Sookie met up at her house to do some paperwork on the Inn, while Jackson hooked the baby monitor up to the house's central sound...

- _Really..,_ Rory interrupted. - _You can do that?_

- I don't know. Shouldn't I be asking _you_ that?

- _Since when did I become a tech wiz?_

- You're more than I am, Lorelai shrugged.

- _True, but still..._

- You're telling me in that thorough education Chilton is supposed to give you, they didn't teach you anything regarding technology?

- _Not to Journalism majors._

- Not anything?

- _Unless you count learning the basics in using a computer, then no, nothing._

- How is it they left technology out of your education, considering the generation you belong to, but they still made you take Golf?

- _That's for physical fitness,_ Rory reasoned. - _If I'm to be an overseas correspondent, I'd benefit from being in some sort of physical shape._

- But _Golf_?

- _Maybe one day I'd have to write about Golf,_ Rory suggested. - _You never know._

- But what if you'd have to write about technology, what then?

- _Then I'd consult an expert,_ Rory shrugged. - _And now we really came off on a tangent._

- What we do best, Lorelai grinned.

- _I think you're mistaking this for what_ you _do best,_ Rory countered. - _So back to this morning. You and Sookie were doing paper work, Jackson was working the sound system, and..._

- So me and Sookie were thinking back to the good ol' days where we still had income, which lead to me reluctantly letting her know the estimated cost of restoring the Inn would be another 20,000 dollars.

- _You're kidding,_ Rory exclaimed.

- Wish I was, Lorelai sighed. - So now, in addition to planning the restoration of the Dragonfly, hiring new people, having the baby, keeping the baby alive, I either have to stretch my budget or come up with a plan to get more money. So far I've thought of a somewhat risky bank job, but how me and Sookie are gonna manage to conceal our identities, not to mention getting away, with the two probing bellies sticking out in front of us, is beyond me. If I was caught, you wouldn't mind bailing mommy out, would you?

- _As long as it doesn't interfere with my classes,_ Rory shrugged.

- That's my girl, Lorelai grinned. - Of course my inevitable going to jail would cut way back on my already precious time with you, not to mention the hassle of getting your baby brother or sister back from social services once I was released. So instead I decided to go with Sookie's idea of starting a small temporary catering company.

- _Sounds like a more reasonable decision,_ Rory concurred. - _But where do_ you _fit into a catering company?_

- Well, Sookie's gonna do all the cooking...

- _That's a given,_ Rory deadpanned.

- Hey, I resent that. I kept you alive for nineteen years, didn't I?

- _By_ not _cooking_, Rory pointed out.

- Alright, that's true, Lorelai nodded. - I'm going to be organizing everything and plan the events we're catering. Which is why I have to spend the evening making elf ears and whatever else I'm missing from the costume stash.

- _So far it sounds like the perfect job for you,_ Rory remarked. - _You love making costumes._

- Yeah, it is kinda fun, Lorelai grinned. - On the plus side, it's legal, so I won't have to deal with jail or Social Services.

- _That's always a plus,_ Rory chuckled. - _But I don't think you'd have to deal with Social Services on the baby matter. I'm sure Luke would be happy to take care of it while you were gone._

- Yeah, I guess, Lorelai sighed.

- _So, how is Luke,_ Rory asked, carefully. - _Have you seen him lately?_

- Well, he's still haggling with the divorce. Just this afternoon two more lawyers turned up...

- _...two more,_ Rory interrupted.

- ...in addition to the three that were already there, Lorelai finished.

- Five _lawyers? Who needs_ five _lawyers to get a divorce?_

- Luke was asking himself the same thing, out loud of course, 'cause my mind reading skills haven't been perfected just yet. I have this nagging feeling he's keeping tinfoil in that cap of his to deliberately keep me from succeeding.

- _Yes, I'm sure that's why you couldn't read his mind._

- He asked me to be his character witness.

- _What did you say?_

- Well, I basicly tried to knock into their heads that Luke was honestly looking for a way out of his marriage, nothing more and nothing less.

- _And?_

- Well, apparently I have very little credibility as a character witness, Lorelai shrugged. - By the time I walked back to the counter I overheard them planning to bring in two more lawyers.

- _Poor Luke..._

- Yeah, Lorelai agreed. - As if getting a divorce isn't bad enough for him as it is.

- _Have you thought more about telling him?_

- No, Lorelai replied, honestly.

- _Why?_

- Didn't you hear me? It's Luke and the lawyers of the round table over here. He has enough on his plate without me adding to the mess.

- _Mom, I get that you couldn't go through with it when Patty told you about Luke getting married. You were in shock, I get that. But you're running out of excuses, not to mention time. He deserves to know._

- Yes, he deserves to know, Lorelai sighed. - But what do you want me to do? Do you want me to go up to him and say _'Hey, Luke, I know you're in the middle of a divorce and everything, but I thought you'd like to know that I'm having your baby, so...'_

- _Okay,_ Rory agreed. - _Maybe that's not the best approach._

- I swear to you, Lorelai promised. - I'm not gonna keep him out of his kid's life. I would _never_ do that to Luke and you know it. But I just can't do it right now. It's too much right now.

- _Just promise you'll do it soon._

- If I promise, can we please change the subject, Lorelai pleaded.

- _Can we move on to your check-up?_

- Only if there will be no more mentioning of _the father_.

- _Well, your reluctance to let it slip has me in complete suspense, so what am I getting? A brother or a sister?_

- I don't know, Lorelai told her daughter.

- _Didn't you say you were finding out at your next check-up? Didn't they get a good enough peak at it?_

- No, they got a fairly good... peak, Lorelai replied. - They asked me if I wanted to know if it was a boy or girl and I found myself saying _'no'_.

- _Why...? When we got back, you were dying to know so that you'd know what baby equipment to get. You said you wanted everything to match the baby's sex._

- I know I said that, but that was before... well, Lorelai sighed.

- _Oh,_ Rory said, taking the hint. - _So now you're not finding out?_

- Well not now, anyway, Lorelai replied.

- _Then when?_

- I don't know. I guess I always imagined that he'd know by the time I had my check-up and even if we were fighting I would go over there to tell him. Maybe if I was lucky, he'd be in there with me when I found out. But being in the doctor's office, alone, knowing that he still doesn't know he's gonna be a father, it felt more fair for me to _not_ know what I'm having.

- _What,_ Rory said, in a distant voice.

- I don't want to know the sex of the baby until Luke knows, Lorelai explained.

- _No, not you,_ Rory elaborated. - _Paris. She's standing right over me, talking about some party and doors being left open. She's really worked up and I just have to take care of this._

- Okay, Lorelai said, in an unsure voice.

- _I'm really sorry, but I have to go. We'll talk tomorrow?_

- Tomorrow, Lorelai replied. - I love you, kid.

- _Love you, too, mom._

And with a click, Rory's and partly Paris' voice was replaced with the hum of the phone.

TBC


	37. You can always come to me

AN: Ok, so I have a question for you all. Does anyone else feel disappointed in season seven? I mean, it seems like almost everyone wants to overlook the lack of reactions between Luke and Lorelai and just focus on the two of them finding their way back together. I'm sorry, but no. I'm not one of those. I want Luke and Lorelai to act like themselves before I start caring about the storyline. Cause if they feel like strangers, then what does it matter what happens in the show? The show at the moment feels like a bad fanfic I just want to give up on reading. The first episode was good enough for me, that's because my spoiled self was promised a breakdown in the second episode. I thought it was gonna happen after Luke drove off, but it didn't. Then I thought it was gonna happen after the run-in they had in the street, but it didn't. So finally Luke says the one thing worse than his pretending not to care about what happened: that he thinks they maybe just weren't meant to be. So I think, ok, finally there's gonna be the big breakdown I've been waiting for. She was sobbing on the COUCH! We got more reaction out of her when she broke up with Max the FIRST time. Now I'm disappointed and angry. The show's Luke and Lorelai have become these strangers. They're not Luke and Lorelai. They're LL's apathic twins: Duke and Morelai. I'm angry and disappointed in the show and I'm close to just stop watching, because my beloved characters doesn't feel real anymore.

AN2: Shoutout to my faithful beta, Steph. Love you!

**gilmorian** - WOW, this must be the very first positive/negative review I've received ever! LOL. You really have no idea how much I enjoyed reading YOUR review, because you're completely honest without either sugarcoating or being mean. And I appreciate that type of honesty. I agree I might be extreme with taking my time, but I think I'm also testing my own patience by writing this. Don't worry, many things that you're waiting for will happen soon enough and I'm sorry the road may be long. I like to view this fic like a, well I don't know the name of the graph, but anyways. At first as time passes it barely grows... then it starts growing more and more and more and then it starts growing real rapidly... That is how I like to describe the pattern of the changes I'm making, at first things are going really slow, really little change, but as more and more time, more changes happen... like the ripples in the water continues to grow... And trust me when I say the baby's birth is one big catalyst for change... lol, that's not spoilery, is it?

**cywen69** - I think you've missunderstood something. I don't follow the show for the sake of following the show. I make changes where it's plausable that the change was made. The Jess storyline would've followed the show if Lorelai hadn't confronted him, but since she did. His story follows a different path from the show. And you'll find that several other events will change as well, it's just the events untouched by Lorelai's changes that remains the same, if that makes sense.

**kinofille2** - Another missunderstanding. I said total 100+ chapters, not that there would be 100+ more chapters coming. If the total ends up with being more than that, then just great. But the number of chapters was not meant to be a threat. I already said the baby's a big catalyst for change. Lorelai's pregnancy won't last that much longer. There are still a couple of chapters left, maybe more than a couple, but the birth is approaching.

**delen2000** - YAY, I won another one over to my format. My evil plot to rule the world is one step closer, mwuahaha... I'm not saying how she'll tell him, but I can tell you it's neither of your two fears.

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - Honestly, when I said I was gonna make plenty of LL before the end of the fic, you expected only 9-14 more chapters? The logic in that is missing, please find it for me, k?

**fee-kh** - Genius noggin? I like that :P I love hearing you come up with various ways for Luke to find out, keep it up, lets see if you can manage to guess the actual one eventually :P

* * *

There were times Luke found himself wondering why he'd decided to stay behind in Stars Hollow when a large percentage of the people he went to school with hadn't. It wasn't that he didn't love the town in his own way, despite his less-than-thrilled appearance. Ever since he was a kid, he'd known he wanted exactly two things; to work at his fathers hardware store and live in old man Twickham's house, without old man Twickham being there, of course. Now, the hardware store may have become a diner after his fathers death and old man Twickham was still very much alive; much to everyone's surprise, as the man had been on his deathbed since around the time Luke started college. And even though he had yet to fulfill that dream of his and his first marriage had gone straight down the drain, the boy in him was sated, for now. He chuckled at the thought, his _first_ marriage. Luke had never really viewed himself as the marrying type and certainly not the one who got married more than once, yet he had... to a lawyer, even. Luke found himself struggling to pinpoint two things about him and Nicole. Why had they gotten married? And what was it that had gone so wrong, so quickly?

When he'd first met Nicole there had been something about her, some quality that appealed to him. Sure she was an attractive woman, and any man would be lying if they didn't call that a bonus, but there was something else about her that caught his attention, other than the gut thing. Luke had a theory that, within the first few seconds one would know if one felt comfortable with another person. There were only a few people he'd felt it with. Other than Lorelai, who he'd come to view and depend on as his best friend and her daughter by extension, he'd felt it with three women, Rachel, Anna, and now Nicole. But with exception of the gut thing, there was something else, some familiarity that he just couldn't pinpoint. But what did it matter? They were divorcing, breaking up, so what did it matter whatever it was that had caught his attention?

He was now experiencing the annoyance that was divorce negotiations. How many ways could a man say that he wanted nothing else, than to get it over with? It seemed to him that he'd had a visit from every stinkin' lawyer from that firm. All that was left was for Nicole to take on the divorce case, herself. As if that wasn't bad enough in itself, he could feel the town's eyes on him. He felt as though his problems were merely entertainment for his fellow townspeople. He didn't even want to begin with what Lorelai must be going through. Despite her slight avoidance of the diner, which hadn't gone unnoticed by him, he had more than once caught a glimpse of her through the windows of the diner, as she'd attempted avoiding the many questions from certain townspeople. True, he too was curious of this new predicament of hers, especially her tactical way of changing the subject whenever a pregnancy-related question surfaced during any conversation.

Whenever the thought of Lorelai once again having to raise a kid all by herself emerged, Luke couldn't help but feel an icy chill go down his spine. It wasn't right. Luke was rarely a violent person, but thinking about whatever deadbeat it was that had left Lorelai to fend by herself, _again_, made him want to slam his fist into the person's face. He thought back to a couple of months ago, when he had ranted away about absent fathers, absolutely furious over Jimmy weaseling his way back into Jess' life after being absent the kid's whole life. Lorelai had been pregnant then. Luke hoped she would confide in him who the baby's father was, so that he could give the guy a piece of his mind.

Adding this to the toaster breaking down yet again, as well as him having to deal with more unnecessary crap from Nicole's divorce lawyers. _How difficult can it be to answer a simple question like 'where do I sign'?_ Luke was in a pretty crappy mood, when he noticed Lorelai approaching the diner. As the door opened, in the seconds before their eyes met, Luke took in the view of her curvy form. He never thought he'd think it, but even pregnancy seemed to flatter the woman in front of him. When their gazes met, she gave him a slightly tired smile as she walked over, something that indicated a very long day.

- Coffee, she begged, as she plopped onto the chair in front of him, her purse hitting the counter.

As experience told him she was in no mood to hear it, Luke refrained from giving her the good old lecture, knowing very well it wouldn't work in his favor anyway, as well as it would put Lorelai in even a more foul mood. Instead he grabbed both the decaf and regular pots and poured her his Lorelai special.

- Oy there, remember our deal, Lorelai warned, using one of her favorite words to do so.

Luke shook his head in annoyance as he felt her eyes drill a hole in the back of his skull. Nevertheless, he honored their spoken agreement and poured a little more caffeinated coffee into the mix than decaf. He was surprised she could even tell the difference.

When he handed her the cup, she proceeded to mock-taste the coffee, as if she was a wine fanatic tasting wine in a fancy restaurant.

- Hmm, she said. - It needs little more caffeine.

Tempted to just remove the cup from her altogether, Luke just rolled his eyes and added a little more regular coffee in her cup.

- You look nice, he commented, finally noticing what she was wearing.

It wasn't unusual for Lorelai to dress up. Every Friday night came to mind, but today wasn't a Friday. Also, ever since she had started showing and the pregnancy itself had begun taking it's toll, Lorelai had taken to make comfort a priority rather than style in her choice of clothes.

- What's the occasion, he asked.

- Aaron Thompson's eighth birthday party, Lorelai answered, taking a sip of her coffee.

- Oh, right. The catering gig. How did that go?

- Well, the theme was a hit. The kids loved all the costumes and effects, not to mention the weapons...

- You brought weapons to an eight year old's birthday party, Luke exclaimed in disbelief.

- _I_ didn't, Lorelai emphathized.

- Oh, Luke replied, catching on.

- Luckily we only had minor injuries. A small bruise on one kid's upper arm from a little fencing accident and another one dropped his sword on his own foot. But once we sat them all down with the movie, we confiscated all the weapons and locked them in the jeep for safekeeping.

- How did they like that, Luke wondered.

- Oh there were some slight protests, but after I told them that even the Fellowship had to turn in their weapons before they could go visit the king of Rohan, they all gave in.

- King of what?

- Don't tell me you never saw the Lord of the Rings, Lorelai said in shock.

- I tried reading the book when I was a kid, Luke shrugged. - I never made it through the Rivendell meeting.

- Of course you didn't, it was a hundred pages long, God damnit. Few who enters that meeting comes out again, Lorelai pointed out. - But that's the great thing about movies, they cut out all the crap and leaves us with the good stuff. It's called editing.

- I never saw the movie.

- Movies, Lorelai corrected. - And you have to see them. It's one of those things you can't go through life and not see, unless you're one of those booknerds who whine about how Arwen wasn't supposed to be that important of a role. And whatever happened to what's-his-face, whose lines was given to Treebeard instead.

- Who, Luke asked.

- I feel sad for you, Luke, Lorelai said, with a pitying look.

- So, how did the kids react when they didn't get the weapons back after the movie, Luke asked, changing the subject.

- Luckily the movie's extremely long, which gave them all plenty of time to forget all about the weapons. Plus the minute the movie was over it was time for food. Another fun chapter in the Independence catering company's tale.

- Why? What happened?

- Sookie happened, Lorelai answered.

- What did she do?

- I can tell you something she didn't do; make food for the kids.

- She didn't?

- Nothing she could get them to eat anyways. She tried placing a chafing dish in the middle of one of the tables. She'd made brie. She even offered one of the kids gravlax. The mac'n cheese was green from a jalapeno cream sauce and the chocolate cake was rum-raisin with a tropical fruit ganache. Already anticipating disaster I had one of the servers run to the market to get some frozen pizzas and some cupcakes from the bakery. Financially we barely broke even after paying the servants and calculating in the extra food Sookie had prepared.

- You'll do better next time, Luke said, comfortingly.

- That's what I told Sookie after cheering up the poor girl that started crying.

- One of the kids started crying?

- Sookie got a little stressed out with my taking over her part of the job, Lorelai explained. - And the kid just walked in at the worst timing and Sookie kinda snapped. Like I said, I took care of it, but once the girl was out the door, Sookie had a meltdown.

- Geez, I'm getting stressed out just hearing about it, Luke remarked.

- Hence my immense need for caffeine right now, Lorelai replied, holding out her cup.

Taking pity on her, Luke ignored his own rule and let her have a regular cup of coffee.

- Just this one, he told her. - And you're having a salad afterwards.

- Terms accepted, Lorelai replied, happily sipping her coffee.

- What was Sookie's meltdown all about?

- Basically it boiled down to her not wanting to be pregnant anymore.

- Great timing, Luke replied, dryly.

- Yeah, Lorelai chuckled. - Can't say I blame her, though. I had a similar crisis when I was pregnant with Rory.

- Hey, you were sixteen, Luke shrugged. - It wasn't exactly planned.

- I know, Lorelai nodded. - It's not the same situation, but it's the same feelings that goes through you. The same questions. 'How am I gonna do this?', 'Will my baby love me?', 'Am I gonna fail miserably?'

Luke carefully eyed her. He started to suspect this was no longer about Sookie or whatever it was Lorelai had been feeling two decades ago.

- I know I shouldn't worry, Lorelai sighed, confirming his suspicions. - I mean, I've done it. I've raised a kid, an amazing kid at that. She's out of the nest, finding her own way in the world and I even managed to prevent her from making the same mistakes I did while growing up. She has options, she has dreams that I _know_ she'll succeed at.

- But.., Luke helped.

- But I can't help but think that with this kid everything will be different. Rory and I grew up together. We've been best friends first, because we were so close in age and all we had was each other. Even when I was working hard, Rory was with me, because we _lived_ at my job, so we were always together. That's not gonna happen with this one, is it?

- That doesn't mean you won't be a great mother to this kid as well, Luke pointed out.

- I guess, Lorelai sighed. - But I still don't know how I'm gonna handle this. If I have a girl, I know it won't be another Rory, she'll be her own person, but what if I end up comparing her to her older sister? And if I have a boy... I know nothing about little boys, what they like and don't like. What do I do then?

- Every kid's unique and you'll learn to know what they like as they get bigger, Luke reasoned. - Besides, if you end up needing advice about boy activities and interests, then you know you can always come to me.

- Thanks, Lorelai replied, gratefully and chuckled. - You must think I'm a big mess.

- No, Luke said, shaking his head. - Hormonal? Maybe. Crazy? Definitely. A mess? Never.

Lorelai's eyes were slightly blank and she silently sniffled. Luke suspected her hormones were working full time.

- How is it you always know the right thing to say, she asked.

- I listen, he shrugged.

Lorelai nodded as she instinctively patted her belly.

- I know you said that if you met the right person, kids would be a discussion, she said. - But can you see yourself as a father?

Luke remembered when he and Lorelai had that talk about kids a year before while he had fixed her shoe for the dance marathon. He didn't know why he'd told her that. Something in him just wanted Lorelai to know that he wasn't as anti-kid as he'd appeared when he'd commented on Jackson's four kids-in-four-years plan being nothing short of crazy. And as he thought about his statement he guessed he could stand for the statement. He hadn't really thought that much about having kids of his own and back then he hadn't even had a significant other present, so there had really been no reason to consider whether or not he wanted to have kids. But could he see himself as a father?

- I don't know, he shrugged. - I haven't really given it that much thought. I mean, I definitely don't think I'd do well right now, with everything that's going on. But one day, maybe.

- Yeah, Lorelai muttered, absently.

- But that's just me, Luke elaborated, noticing the change in her tone. - You'll do great. And if there's anything you need help with, I'm here.

- I know, Lorelai nodded.

Luke couldn't help but think that she didn't sound all that convinced, or maybe something else was bothering her. He wanted to ask her, but he knew that usually when Lorelai wanted to share something with him, she did and when she didn't, there was no point in asking.

- Hey, do you think you can make that salad to go? It's been a long day and I just want to get some rest.

- Sure, Luke said, confused.

It took him the total of two minutes to prepare the salad and Lorelai had already slipped her jacket back on and was ready to leave. And as he watched her leave, Luke couldn't shake the feeling that he had said something wrong.

TBC


	38. Mom, have you met Tanna?

AN: No place for a note, just a shoutout to my faithful beta, Steph!

**Asta-Gilmore** - Well, I accepted the first episode since I was promised a breakdown in episode two. But the horrible second episode does make the first seem worse than it did when I watched it first time around. I've decided to stop watching GG season 7 until I hear better news. And seeing the new promo, I wanted to throw up, so I'm even gonna keep from watching the promo. And YES, someone else reacted at the "dad" thing. Lorelai never said "dad" when she referred to Dopey. She said "your dad" or "your father", but never just "dad". They're ruining my beloved show. The ending of season 6 was far better than this and that says a lot.

**fee-kh** - LOL, keep'em coming. Oh no, not planning on making a trashy romance plot. Romance, yes. But I want it to be romance in the true LL style. The little every day moments. The actions that speaks more than words do. The flirtatious banter over the counter. And most of all, the friendship they've managed to keep throughout it all.

**cywen69** - If I made the story move quicker, it would much sooner be over and do you really want that? The longer the journey is, the longer the destination is as well. Think about that.

**flcrkr** - You bring up a good point in there and it's one that will be adressed at a later point... lol, can I be more cryptic?

**Gymtig** - I just had Luke answer what I think he would've felt about the idea of fatherhood at that precise moment. If he'd known he had a kid, he'd take responsibility, because that's who he is. But I don't think Luke at that moment could envision himself as a dad. And about the weapons. Lorelai wasn't the one who brought weapons, someone else did.

**Babs** - The first episode Luke's reaction was dead on, but he got missing in episode 2. It was like the punch drained him of his Luke-ness and left a shell behind. I've decided to stop watching. I don't want to see my show run down into the ground.

**smileyGGfan** - I make a shoutout when there's actually something to answer... lol Well, without giving anything away, Luke will like the idea of fatherhood, once little _blank_ gets born. Another Gilmore to have him wrapped around the finger... lol

**A-Karana** - Without sounding like a broken record. I'm just saying this. You've heard from Steph to keep up faith and Steph knows the future, I think that should be enough to keep your spirit up... lol

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - I know which one you're talking about and thank you for not posting it here, so my spoilerfree readers doesn't read it by accident. And about the length, well I'm here to break records... lol

* * *

Lorelai stood frozen on the steps of the Gilmore mansion. Any other person would believe that the worst was behind her. After all she'd already been to the house since her return and both her parents now knew about her condition. But whoever believed the worst was behind her was a fool. There was no way her condition, life situation, not to mention her love life wouldn't make it into the conversation tonight. Emily Gilmore wasn't one to just let things be. And although Lorelai knew there was no way Richard hadn't been told by now, this would still be the first time her father would see her pregnant form since when she was still carrying Rory. Lorelai also knew that her not attending the last two Friday night dinners surely wouldn't help her case. She grabbed her daughter's hand as she turned to meet her gaze.

- Are you sure about the whole spending your weekend at Yale?

- I have to, her daughter replied. - The whole keeping Paris and Janet from killing each other and keeping Tanna from being caught in the crossfire has cut into my whole study time and I have to catch up.

- So study at home, Lorelai suggested, knowing that by the end of the evening she would be in a great need for her daughter's consoling.

- Yeah, Rory remarked. - Because that would be very efficient.

- Hey, you did it all the time back at Chilton.

- The only way I managed to get any studying done was if you were occupied or if I'd bribed you with promising to take you shoe shopping, Rory replied, dryly. - Besides, I have so much to do, I wouldn't have time to make good on my promise and you know how much I hate to break a promise.

- Wouldn't the feud between your suitemates be just as distracting, Lorelai enquired, hoping her kid would reconsider.

- Nope. Paris and Janet are both gonna be away for the weekend and Tanna's pretty much as quiet as a mouse. Now, ring the bell.

- What about Jess, Lorelai asked.

- What about him, Rory asked.

- Has he been cutting into your study time?

- No.

- No? You haven't seen him at all? Doesn't he, I don't know, _live_ in New Haven, now?

- Yes, he's in New Haven, Rory sighed.

- But you haven't seen him, Lorelai asked, with her brow raised.

- Of course I've seen him. The bookstore isn't that far from campus, you know.

- And you're still together?

- Of course, Rory replied.

- So you spend a lot of time together, then, Lorelai pointed out.

- Where are you going with this, Rory wanted to know.

- Nothing, I'm just surprised, since you spend so much time with him, it's a bit strange you didn't include him in your list of distractions.

- He's not a distraction. Yes, we spend a lot of time together, I go to that store several times a week. But I study while I'm there.

- I didn't know you changed your major to human anatomy, Lorelai joked.

- Nothing's happened, Rory replied, rolling her eyes at her mother's joke, then silently added. - _Yet_. He works every day, after school, at the store to pay for food and shelter. Luke's offered to help him out, but Jess wants to do things on his own. But the store has a great backroom, with great lighting, a desk and a comfortable chair, so I often go there to study. Combined with the background noises from the store's customers it's the perfect place to study. I get a lot done while I'm there and whenever Jess has a break or the store's going slowly, we hang out.

- So are you going over there this weekend? Does he know you're staying behind?

- We're both doing our schoolwork over the weekend, but if we both finish up before Sunday, we're gonna go see a movie or something.

- Okay, seriously. I know he's all improved and everything, but I can't envision Jess sitting home during the weekend, doing his homework, Lorelai replied. - I just can't buy it.

- He's more serious about school now, Rory defended. - I don't think he has any plans on going to college, but he wants to get his GED so that he doesn't have it hanging over his head the rest of his life.

- Still, I can't imagine him studying for a whole Saturday. Didn't he use to have a problem concentrating for even five minutes back when you were tutoring him?

- How often will I have to convince you that he's changed?

- That much, Lorelai asked, in disbelief.

- Unless it was to prove a point, he wouldn't make the honor roll, Rory admitted. - But he does go to school and he keeps up with the work. No one is forcing him to go to school. He's going by himself. If he didn't want to, he could've just taken up a full time job at the book store. Believe me when I say he's already gotten the offer.

- I don't want you to be disappointed, Lorelai sighed as she reluctantly continued. - But I guess you made a point with his not needing to go, so maybe I can give him the benefit of the doubt.

- And maybe you can quit stalling and actually ring the door bell, Rory suggested.

- Can't we just pretend I never came so I don't have to do this, Lorelai pouted.

- You can't just avoid them completely. You've already told Grandma, so her and Grandpa already knows about the baby. Besides, Grandma already called me to make sure you actually came this time, so if you bail on me, I'll never hear the end of it.

- You owe me, Lorelai grumbled.

- Duly noted.

- You can start paying your dept by coming home this weekend.

- Mom, I can't, Rory groaned.

- How can you expect me to endure Emily Gilmore's incessant questioning for two plus hours to just bail on me in the moment of my greatest need?

- If I have to, I'll hold a therapy session in the back of the Jeep, I just can't go back to Stars Hollow this weekend. I promise, next weekend and the one after that and the one after that again, I'll be home to follow your every whim.

- Even making prank calls to Taylor?

- If I have to, Rory nodded.

- You are my favorite daughter, Lorelai sighed.

- For now at least, Rory chuckled, her eyes wandering to her mother's expanding stomach.

Lorelai knew it was just a joke from her daughter's side, but she couldn't help but wonder how it would be if she turned out to be having a girl. A part of her cursed her decision on not finding out what she was having. The suspense of not knowing was killing her. At least if she knew she'd be able to prepare more. There were just so many questions. Would Rory feel abandoned as her baby sister would require a lot of attention? Would the girl envy her and Rory's relationship and resent her for not being able to give her new baby the same? Lorelai herself was an only child, so she'd never had to worry about living in someone else's shadow, but she knew enough to know she wouldn't want any of her daughters, or sons for that matter, to feel like that.

- Don't worry, Rory told her, as though she'd read her mind. - I know that no matter if the baby's a boy or a girl, it won't make a difference for the relationship you and me have.

Lorelai smiled and pulled her daughter into a hug. Hearing the oh so familiar sound of the door bell ringing, the smile turned to a frown. Letting go, she gave her daughter a look.

- Traitor, she muttered.

- Sorry, Rory shrugged. - Someone had to do it.

As per usual, the maid opened the door and the two girls handed over their summer jackets, as it was still too warm outside to bring out their coats just yet. It took Emily less than a minute to appear on the scene. The maid was still holding the jackets, as though she was waiting for her employer's instructions on where to put them.

- The coats go in the guest closet at the end of the hallway, Martha, Emily sighed. - I've told you this a million times.

- But these aren't coats, the maid replied. - They are jackets. Do they also go in the guest closet?

- _Yes_, Emily sighed. - When a guest hands you their outerwear, no matter if they're jackets, coats, ponchos or whatnots, it _all_ goes in the designated guest closet.

- Alright, the maid replied. - I'll go right away.

- You do that, Emily said, annoyed, before turning her attention to her girls. - I swear, the girl has the mental capacity of a door knob.

- Hi Grandma, Rory said, giving her grandmother a hug.

- Rory, Emily smiled. - Don't you look absolutely adoring. I really do like that top on you. The color just seems to bring out your beautiful eyes. Where did you find it?

- Oh, mom picked it out, Rory said.

- Oh yes, hello, Lorelai, Emily said, calmly, taking in her appearance with a somewhat disapproving expression. - Well I'm glad you at least decided against wearing that tacky shirt you wore last time.

- Yes, it was a one-wear-stand, Lorelai quipped.

Emily rolled her eyes and Lorelai could clearly hear her mutter _'honestly'_ under her breath.

- Well, don't just stand there. Come in, she said out loud, ushering them into the livingroom, turning her head towards her husband's study. - _Richard,_ the girls are here!

- _I just have one more call to make, I'll be out in five minutes_, came the answer from the semi-closed door.

- For the love of.., Emily muttered. - _Richard_, the girls are here _now_!

Receiving no reply, Emily motioned for Lorelai and Rory to sit and went over to make drinks.

- Gin martini, Lorelai, she asked.

- Grandma, Rory exclaimed.

- Oh, right, Emily muttered, shaking her head. - Is Club Soda good, Lorelai? Or would you rather have some apple juice?

Taken aback that even after almost two decades her mother still remembered her old pregnancy cravings, it took Lorelai a minute to answer.

- Club soda's perfectly fine, mom.

- Are you sure, Emily asked. - Back, when you were having Rory, you couldn't even leave the room without bringing apples in one form or another with you.

- That was with Rory, mom. It's different with this baby.

- Then, what are your cravings? I'm sure whatever it is I can have Martha make it.

- Well, my cravings are a bit less _consistent_ this time around, Lorelai shrugged. - I don't really have a hankering for anything right now.

- You are eating right, I hope. It's highly important to have a healthy diet. I still can't get over your insisting to drink coffee. Do you have any idea how damaging this can be for the baby?

- I had coffee all the time while I was pregnant with Rory, mom, Lorelai pointed out.

- That was then, Lorelai, Emily lectured. - You're older, now, more receptive of certain risks. Not to mention your coffee habits have skyrocketed. Adding this to your usual diet, it can become really serious if you're not careful.

- I eat well, mom, Lorelai insisted. - The baby has me eating all sorts of gross healthy things. Not to mention Luke doesn't let me have any of my favorite treats anymore.

- Is that the father's name, Emily asked.

- _Mom_, Lorelai replied, feeling the panic in her chest growing by the second.

- Luke's the guy who feeds us every day, Grandma, Rory elaborated. - Remember?

Lorelai was impressed to say the least on how Rory managed to save the crisis without uttering a single lie. The student really _had_ surpassed the master.

- Of course, Emily muttered. - How silly of me. After all, Luke isn't exactly a hispanic name, now is it?

- What are you talking about, mother, Lorelai asked, confused.

- About what you refuse to tell me about the baby's father.

- Which is?

- That he's of spanish origin, Emil pointed out.

- What on earth gave you _that_ idea, Lorelai asked, failing to suppress a laugh.

- I have my sources, Emily shrugged.

- I can't for the life of me, remember a single time where I've said anything like that to anyone.

- Rory's suitemate seemed to think otherwise.

- When have you ever talked to Rory's suitemates, Lorelai asked.

- What? I can't talk to the people in my granddaughter's life, Emily challenged. - Is there a law against it?

- There's no law, mom, Lorelai groaned. - I'm simply asking a question.

- I was calling Rory to find out what to give her as a housewarming present and one of the other girls answered and told me Rory was out. Instead of hanging up we started talking and she told me everything.

- Okay. Let me get this straight, Lorelai said. - One of _Rory's_ suitemates told you that _my_ baby's father was hispanic?

- Apparently you told them about it at some slumber party you had with the girls. She said something about the man leaving something on the bedside table. Honestly Lorelai, there are certain things you do not share with your daughter, no matter how close you are.

- Mom, Lorelai stated. - Which suitemate was this?

- What on earth has whoever told me anything to do with it?

- Mom, Lorelai asked again.

- She said her name was Tanna. She was a little odd, perhaps, but other than that a rather sweet girl.

- Suddenly everything makes a whole lot more sense, Lorelai sighed. - Mom, I was joking with something Rory had said. No one in their right mind would take any of it seriously.

- Tanna seemed to believe it.

- Well, have you _met_ Tanna?

- The girl's a Yalie, Lorelai. I think she can at least distinguish between what's a joke and what's not.

- Fine you got me, Lorelai sighed. - The father's name's Don. I never got his last name. He came riding into town on his black stallion one day. With his mask and his cape, he was a mysterious man and swept me off my feet. Nature took its course and I woke up the next morning, his mask on my bedside table and the letter 'Z' carved into my bedpost.

- Lorelai, for once, be serious.

- See, you too immediately knew it was a joke, Lorelai pointed out.

- There are things you just don't joke about, Lorelai, Emily said sternly.

Lorelai sighed, preparing herself for the inevitable lecture on proper etiquette, when Martha, the maid walked in.

- Dinner's ready Mrs Gilmore, she announced.

- Has Mr Gilmore come out of his study yet?

- Not yet, Mrs Gilmore. Do you want me to go get him?

- Yes, Martha, Emily replied. - Tell him I don't care if he's talking to the president himself. He is to hang up immediately and come out for dinner.

- Yes, Mrs Gilmore, the maid replied, bowing as she exited the room.

- Alright, Emily announced. - Lets go to the dining room.

- _Saved by the dinner bell_, Lorelai muttered, silently so only Rory could hear.

- What was that, Lorelai?

- I have to go to the bathroom, Lorelai covered. - I'll be there in a minute.

- Well, don't take too long, Emily replied, as she and Rory both headed for the dining room.

Although she hadn't really needed to go to the bathroom, she went all the same and as she was washing her hands, she stared into the mirror. If drinks, which usually were the more enjoyable part of the evening, other than the actual leaving of the house, was anything to judge by, dinner was simply bound to be horrible. Especially since she was now about to come face to face with her father after he'd been told about her condition. She really didn't want to be here. However there was nothing she could do. Rory was right. No matter how much she'd rather avoid having to deal with her parents, she couldn't cut them out, just out of convenience. They were still her parents and even though they didn't approve of her world, they still loved her in their own weird way.

Besides, who was she to deny her own child to have grandparents. Up until the forced Friday night dinners, Rory had very little contact with either of her grandparents. The Hayden's refusal to accept the girl as their granddaughter was none of Lorelai's fault. The Gilmore's lack of participation, however, was. Although the situation was on the mend and Rory had a great relationship with her grandparents, it still didn't erase those first sixteen years where they were but strangers to her. And she didn't want to take that choice away from her new baby either. She would probably never come to a complete understanding with her parents, but thay shouldn't stop her children from having them as a part of their lives.

When she finally entered the dining room, Richard was already in his seat. Lorelai plastered on a smile as she slid onto her chair.

- Hi dad.

- Lorelai, he acknowledged. - You look well. Are you well?

- I am, Lorelai replied.

- Well, that's good, Richard replied, politely.

Conversations with her father had almost always been short and awkward. That was, when he wasn't lecturing her on something. It seemed to her that he was trying his best to keep any thoughts he had to himself. With Emily having the opposite approach, Lorelai was grateful she didn't have to deal with both their wraths at the same time. The maid came bearing the salads and soon, all four of them engrossed themselves in the food. Having never been a salad person, Lorelai blamed the pregnancy-altered taste buds for her actually enjoying it. As Emily put her fork down, Lorelai could just feel the lecture building up in her mother, so she turned her focus towards her father.

- So dad, she said. - You sure took time in the study. I take it business is going well?

- Business is going very well, indeed. I think you would probably say it was _booming_ or something to that effect.

- I'm sure I would, Lorelai chuckled.

Emily had yet to join the conversation, but as all four of them had put down their forks, she called out to the maid.

- Martha, clear the plates and bring out the main course.

The maid did as told and the room once again fell silent. Once again, the opportunity for Emily to start her lecture or maybe come with yet another ridiculous accusation regarding her pregnancy, was apparent and Lorelai had just about had enough of it for the day.

- So anything new, dad, she asked.

- Funny you should ask, Richard said. - I'm sure Rory's told you about my going into business with Jason Stiles.

- Can't say she has. Who's he?

- Surely you remember Jason, Lorelai. He's Floyd's son. Didn't the two of you go to summer camp together, or something?

- Digger, Lorelai asked, a flash of her younger self falling head first into the lake coming to mind. - You're gonna work with Digger Stiles?

- Come off it, Lorelai, no one's called him that in years. Quite frankly he's very sensitive about it, too.

- I didn't know you were looking for a partner.

- I didn't, Richard replied. - Jason came to me and he gave me a very fruitful proposal.

- He went down on one knee in his Miss Chiquita outfit, Lorelai asked.

- Must everything be a joke to you, Lorelai, Emily asked, annoyed.

- He offered to bring all his current clients with him and all he wants in return is to share the desk and stationary.

- You forgot _'screwing over'_ his father, Emily said in distaste. - I really don't like you going into business with this boy.

- Yet two weeks ago, when I didn't even want to take his call, you were all for it, Richard countered.

- That was before I knew his intention. He has no regards for his family, the people who clothed him, fed him, gave him everything he could ever want for.

With her parents continuing to argue over Jason all throughout dinner, there was no more mentioning of Lorelai's pregnancy, father candidates or any other rumors or accusations. Before she knew it, she and Rory were standing in the foyer, waiting for the maid to search for their jackets. Then the next time Lorelai blinked, they were outside.

- Still need me to delve into psych mode, Rory asked her.

- No, I'm fine, Lorelai replied. - You go and finish up all your work, because there's no way I'm letting you do any of the sort when you come home next weekend.

- Duly noted, Rory said, leaning over to kiss her cheek. - I love you, mom.

- Love you too, kid, Lorelai replied.

- Remember, if you need me, the phone will be with me the whole time.

- Good to know, Lorelai nodded, getting into the Jeep.

The drive back to Stars Hollow was uneventful and lonely. The radio played nothing besides plastic pop and had to be turned off. As she passed Luke's, a part of her wanted to stop and get some coffee. However the other part, the one that just wanted to go home and crawl into bed, or at least the couch, was the one who won. Her house seemed the same, except the fact that the porch light was on and working. It hadn't been working since back when they had moved Rory into her dorm. If she'd been her normal self, Lorelai would've pondered this further. But having had no caffeine in her system since sometime in the early afternoon as well as the physical strain the extra weight was having on her, she just didn't.

She parked the Jeep and made a quick trip to the mail box to see if her mail simply had had a delay. It hadn't. She unlocked the door and had just placed her purse by the answering machine when a horrendous sound started ringing in her ears. Searching around the immediate room, she tried to locate the source. It seemed to be coming from everywhere. Holding her hands over her ears, she moved slowly around, trying to wrap her mind around what was going on. The baby, awoken from its slumber had started doing the merengue in her stomach. Then as she had reached the corner of the room, the noise stopped. Freezing in mid move, Lorelai slowly removed her hands from her ears. Making a silent croak, she tested that she had not in fact suddenly gone deaf and she breathed out relieved. The baby was still somewhat active, probably less than pleased with the abrupt wake-up call.

Having stood still for two minutes, Lorelai finally dared to move again. She turned around and took in the sight of the room. Nothing really looked different. It was then she spotted three foreign objects on her living room table. A card, a note and to her distaste, a gun. Continuously gazing around the room, she finally noticed some electric thingamajig on the wall near the staircase. Taking one step towards it, nothing happened. Taking a second step, it was still silent. However mid-third step, the noise returned. Backing quickly, Lorelai held her hands over her ears until the noise stopped.

Deciding to instead go sideways to reach the objects on the kitchen table, Lorelai successfully managed to get a hold of both the card, that said _'Stars Hollow Security Company'_ and the note, which turned out to be from Kirk. Shaking her head at the content she looked around the room, trying to locate her phone. Luckily her last call had been by the couch, so with some minor maneuvering she managed to grab it without angering the alarm. She quickly dialed the number on the card. The phone rang once... rang twice... after the fifth ring, someone finally answered.

- _Yeah?_

- Um, hi, Lorelai replied. - Who's this? Do I have the right number?

- _Well I'm Meg, but if you have the right number, that depends on who you're calling_, the woman answered.

- Stars Hollow Security Company?

- _Well, then, yeah, you have the right number._

- Great, Lorelai sighed. - I just came home to find an alarm installed here. Now it's ringing and ringing, unless I stand in a specific corner of the room. How do I turn it off?

- _Honey, I'm not much with the technical stuff. I just sweep up the place. You have to call during the day to get any help, I'm afraid._

- But what do I do until then?

- _Stay in the corner until morning? I don't know. Didn't they leave you a code or something?_

- Just a note, a card and a gun, Lorelai sighed.

- _Well, then I don't know what to say. Try staying with the neighbor or something. I'm really sorry, but I've got to go back to work. Hope it all gets sorted out._

- Isn't there anything you can do?

- _I can take a message, but that's about it, I'm afraid._

- Well, then tell Kirk that Lorelai called and wants the alarm uninstalled as soon as possible.

- _I'll write it down. Hope it gets sorted out for you. Bye_

- Bye, Lorelai replied with a sigh.

Taking just a minute to take a breath, she dialed a new number. It took only two rings before someone answered.

- _Hello?_

- We have an alarm, Lorelai informed her daughter.

- _Mom?_

- I came home and opened the door and just three steps into the house the frickin' thing went off and it's _loud_.

- _How did we get an alarm,_ Rory asked confused.

- Well, apparently Kirk...

- _Oh no..,_ Rory interrupted.

- ...broke in and installed it sometime today.

- _Where did Kirk get an alarm?_

- If I was to guess, from his latest job, the Stars Hollow Security Company.

- _Of course._

- So now, whenever I move, the thing starts screeching, the baby does the rumba, my ears start bleeding and Meg just sweeps up the place. So now I have to spend the night in the corner of my living room waiting for Kirk to uninstall the whole thing. How big of a chance do you think I have at learning to sleep standing up?

- _I'd say slim to none. Who's Meg?_

- A cleaning lady and coincidentally the only person present when I called the alarm-response center.

- _First we have a Security Company and now an Alarm Center?_

- And apparently only part time.

- _Whatever happens in Stars Hollow?_

- I'll tell you what. People break into your houses and install alarm systems, that's what.

- _Oh boy. So what are you gonna do?_

- I don't know. Right now I'm gonna see if I can plan a route to get me up to the bedroom without triggering the damn thing.

- _Good luck with that._

- Love you, hun.

- _Love you, too, mom._

Putting the phone down, Lorelai bent down on all fours. Keeping low to the floor, she made her way across the room, towards the stairs. Keeping against the wall, she slowly got up and rounded the corner. Taking one step up, the room remained silent. She took a second step. _So far, so good._ On her third step, her foot got stuck in the loose carpet on the stairs and as she bent down to unhook it, the alarm went off. Clutching her ears as she made it back to the safe corner, she knew it was gonna be a long night.

TBC


	39. I want a contract

AN: Okay, so I get half the amount of reviews than I've gotten for the last couple of chapters. Gotta say, this doesn't really help with my plan to get to chapter 50 before christmas. Come on, people. Comments help me write faster. You want me to write faster, don't you? As always, Steph, thanks for the beta!

AN2: Here's something I never thought I'd have to ask. Can people PLEASE refrain from posting spoilers here? I'm spoiled, but many of my readers aren't and I don't want them to read anything by accident, ok?

AN3: How have you guys been? I have had the joy of coming to the realization that I've probably lost two friends that I once considered to be amongst my closest ones (no, they're alive, so don't post condolances on that, okay?). To make a long story short. Girl and guy start to date. Guy treats girl badly and dumps her. I don't want to see the guy again for a long time, because of what he did. The girl's refusing to pull herself together and now she's even moving away and she didn't even have the curtesy of even telling me. I've done nothing but trying to help her, but it feels like I've been talking to a wall this whole time. (Sigh) I need a hug.

**gilmorian** - Yes, I do appreciate honest reviews. People who only complain or people who pretty much say the same thing regardless what he chapter contained, however is annoying. I like you to keep commenting as honest as you've done so far. Because if I start reading more positive reviews, I'll know that I've truly won you over :) Hmmm, interessting specs, gotta say that. I can't really say much on how long until he finds out, but I can however tell you how much longer until the baby's born. Here's a hint, the chapter has a round number... and I'm _very_ eager to write it. And don't you _dare_ apologise for giving a long review. Darling, I _love_ reading long reviews. By all means, feel free to write _everything_ that comes to your mind ;)

**Asta-Gilmore** - I stopped watching after episode 2 and I'm gonna wait until people can give me reports on the characters beginning to act like themselves again. To fill my time, I'm reading/writing fanfiction, plus I bought DVD's for one more show (I collect DVD boxes), The L Word. It's pretty good. I love the humor in it, very similar to mine :)

**Cinny72** - You can thank Steph for the Miss Chiquita joke. I was struggling to find the name of that hat that has all those fruits on and I just never found it and "fruity hat" seemed just dumb. So Steph suggested this instead.

**Babs25** - I'm still believing in LL, but what they're showing right now feels like a poorly written fanfic. If this had been posted here, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be the only one hitting the "back" button.

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - I'm glad you liked my Richard and the reason Emily didn't say more was because she didn't get the chance. First Lorelai kept asking her father questions and then Emily and Richard started argueing about Jason. I'm glad you feel that I update just when you need it. So this must mean this was a needy week for you ;) lol Enjoy whether it is or not.

**flcrkr** - LOL, well I know I already told you, but I'm saying it again. I have never, ever seen Zorro... lol, IMDB was my resource on where to find his real name and I went with the name used in the old movies. LOL, I know what you mean about mental images. I too am picturing Jason in the Miss Chiquita costume... lol I know what you mean about Kirk and the gun. Who in their right mind would let the guy have one?

* * *

Lorelai had known from the very first moment when she met Taylor Doose that this wasn't a man she would find herself getting along with very often. In fact when she first met him that day in the market, she hadn't really anticipated getting along with him at all. Sure he'd put up a friendly face, but the minute she'd stepped up to the register with a fussing Rory in her arms, she'd felt his judgment over her being a teenage mother. Not that she wasn't already used to it by then, because how often did a small town get to witness teenage mothers? With the exception of a select few, such as Mia, Babette, Miss Patty and a couple of others, there had been several skeptic glances cast her way. However, by the time she enrolled Rory into kindergarten, most of the people had turned around to accepting her. And when she got her first promotion at work, even Taylor seemed to have begun respecting her, or well, as much as he did most of the town, anyways.

It was easy for any townie to view Taylor as an unnecessary obstacle in his or her path. He was a man that was extremely difficult to do any dealings with. Lorelai, herself, had often found herself on the verge of tearing out her own hair whenever Taylor got involved in any of her dealings. The easy thing for her would've been to just blame the trouble on Taylor being Taylor and most of the time she really wanted to do just that. But she knew deep down it wouldn't be right. Not completely, anyway. Because the fact was that she, herself was just as difficult as Taylor, only in the complete opposite direction. In the town of Stars Hollow, he was _order_ and she was _chaos_. Both good for something, but disastrous on their own.

So, in a way she more than once found herself understanding the importance of having a man like Taylor to handle town affairs. But today was just not one of those days. It had been bad, long before Miss Patty had come running with the letter marked _'urgent'_ that the new and very incapable postman had delivered to the dance studio instead of its proper destination. With the never-ending alarm-escapades from the day before and a very restless sleep, not to mention having her head down the toilet for the better part of an hour, as her morning sickness made its return, her day was rating on pure crap before she'd even made it downstairs. And it only got worse as the minutes passed. By the time she'd reached outside she'd already tripped over the alarm twice. Of course this was also the day where the contractor was going to give her the grave news of how much more she would be expected to pay to get the Inn up and running. Kirk was almost impossible to get a hold of, and when she finally did, the guy managed to disconnect her phone.

And just when things couldn't seem more grim, that was when the Taylor grievance began. Already as she was standing in his soda shop, listening to him calmly explaining the letter, she was fantasizing on a thousand and one ways of offing the man without having it lead back to her. With a large portion of self-restraint. _Who said I was without it?_ She managed to sustain from her current violent fantasies to agree to Taylor's proposal of holding a presentation at the night's town meeting. By the time she realized Taylor was on purpose dragging out the town meeting, her anger was on the verge of boiling. _Who cares about a stupid doughnut? Gypsy's right, how can a doughnut be happy!?!_ When Taylor almost didn't let them do their presentation at all and already before letting them step up to the front, was making every attempt on getting people to dislike them, Lorelai used the last of her self-restraint to keep herself from attacking him in front of the town. Not that she thought that would really hurt her chances to get her plans for the Dragonfly approved.

Of course, the presentation itself went far from smooth. Every other thing she mentioned earned her one more already prepared question from Taylor, created for the sole purpose of convincing the good people of Stars Hollow that she didn't have the best intentions for the Dragonfly. Just as Taylor pointed out how the Independence Inn had burned down on her watch, she was about ready to fling the gavel lying in front of her at the man. If her phone hadn't been ringing at that exact moment, she knew very well that she would've followed through on her gut instinct as she had already begun to grab a hold of the object. With her own home number flashing on the display, she confusedly excused herself, letting Sookie and Michel momentarily take over.

- Hello, she said, answering the call.

- _I responded to the activation of an alarm at your residence_, Kirk informed her.

_And where was he the million times I tripped over the damn thing, myself?_ Lorelai couldn't help but wonder. The whole alarm business, not to mention the day itself, was giving her a headache. If only it would end soon...

- _...and I apprehended a prowler in the garage_, Kirk continued.

Slightly beginning to wonder if the alarm perhaps had been a good idea, Lorelai couldn't help but ask.

- You did?

- _Yes, ma'am_, Kirk replied, proudly. - _Female, approximately eighteen years old, Korean._

- Kirk, that's Lane, Lorelai groaned. - You know Lane.

- _I thought I knew Lane, but now I think she's in some kind of gang._

Lorelai could hear the frantic voice of Rory's best friend calling out for help in the background.

- _They claim to be a musical group,_ Kirk continued.

- They _are_ a musical group, Kirk, Lorelai sighed, taking a deep breath, as she tried to gather her thoughts. - Listen, just give me two minutes. Either me or Rory will call you back. Don't do anything until then.

- _Affirmative,_ Kirk replied.

Signaling to Sookie with a tiny wave, she quickly dialed Rory's number.

- _Hello?_

- Kirk has Lane trapped at the house, Lorelai said, not bothering with a hello as there was no time. - Do you have time to call the house and just talk to him? Please?

- _Should I be asking what this is about?_

- Kirk will give you the details. But can you please do this for mommy so she doesn't have a breakdown?

- _Sure, I can manage,_ Rory replied. - _Hey, I almost forgot. How did the meeting go?_

- I had to step out right in the middle of the presentation and now people are coming out. I have to go find Taylor. Can you handle Kirk?

- _Leave it to me._

- Thanks, honey, I owe you one, Lorelai sighed, hanging up and turned to her friends. - Why are everyone leaving?

- I'm so sorry, Sookie sighed. - We completely failed you.

- Why, what happened?

- The second, I mean, the _second_ you walked out the door, Taylor adjourned the meeting over our objections. Our _very loud_ objections, I might add.

- Well, where is he, Lorelai asked, looking around, franticly. - Where did he go?

- He was the first one out the door, Sookie shrugged.

Not accepting the answer, Lorelai continued to search the crowds, when she finally spotted the man crossing the street towards the Diner and the Soda Shop. Her anger already working overtime, his latest stunt of delivering the blow and then just taking off, was just the last straw.

- You can run, but you can't hide, she muttered, taking off after him.

It always surprised her how even with the many extra pounds she was carrying, she was still in shape to catch up with the man who wasn't exactly a slow walker.

- And where do you think you're going, she called out to him, as she caught up.

- Lorelai, please, Taylor said with a surprised jolt. - Don't sneak up on me like that. I almost blew my emergency whistle.

- Taylor, we weren't done, Lorelai reminded him.

- I can't say there was much more to discuss, Taylor shrugged.

- You said for me to come to the town meeting and explain what we were planning to do with the Dragonfly, so that we could start our work.

- Lorelai, Taylor chuckled, as he gave her a patronizing look. - You can't do that until after the walk-through.

- What the hell are you talking about, Taylor? What walk-through.

- Language, Lorelai, Taylor warned. - A mother, not to mention soon-to-be mother again, like yourself, should know better than to use such foul language.

- And you should, with your experience with customers throughout the years, know better than to piss off a pregnant woman, Lorelai snapped back. - What walk-through?

- Well, I and other members of the Historical Preservation Society need to examine the property in person, Taylor answered, calmly and added with a chuckle. - Surely, you didn't think we were gonna make a decision based on a little chat, did you?

- And why is it you didn't mention this to me, say, when I was standing in your shop, holding up the letter you sent me, Lorelai asked.

- Oh, I'm sure I mentioned it.

- No, Taylor. You didn't. And I have a feeling you did that deliberately.

- Now, come on, Lorelai. That is absolutely ridiculous. These are simple procedures that must be followed by any townsperson.

- Fine, Lorelai sighed. - So, when's the walk-through?

- Well, Taylor said, dragging out the word. - I'd have to check with the other society members. Maybe set something up in the next month or so...

- But, Lorelai protested. - I have workmen coming in on Monday. The day after tomorrow, Taylor.

- Oh, dear. That's cutting it pretty close.

- _Pretty close_, Lorelai exclaimed in disbelief. - You _knew_ those workmen were coming in. You _knew_.

- I can't say I remember you ever telling me you were bringing workers in so soon.

- I told you over and over again. Why on earth did you think I was so eager to do this at the meeting tonight, Lorelai exclaimed, clutching her hair, pulling firmly, in attempt to get a grip. - You know... set it up for tomorrow.

- Tomorrow's Sunday, Taylor pointed out.

- I'm well aware of that, Lorelai replied. - To my memory Sunday _is_ indeed the name of the day that comes before Monday, when the nice workers are coming.

- Well, Taylor said, reluctantly. - It would have to be before church.

- Okay, Lorelai nodded. - So we could say midmorning?

- Six, Taylor suggested.

- _Six,_ Lorelai asked in disbelief. - _Six in the morning, six?_ Are you _kidding_ me?

- I could always find a more convenient time later on, Taylor shrugged.

All of a sudden it was like something snapped in her and before Lorelai knew it, she had pinned Taylor back towards the Soda Shop by his neck.

- That's it, she yelled. - I have tried being patient, tried to play nice, but damnit, no more! Ever since I got back, when I wasn't busy preparing and moving my daughter into college, almost my every waking moment has gone towards that Inn. I have no job, no income and every single day something new is added to my bill! I'm having one of my worst days ever today and damnit I only slept for three hours last night. And you're expecting me to get up and be fresh and ready for this ridiculous inspection at six in the morning when I start my morning with my head down the toilet for about an hour!?! If you still can't see the reason behind my mood, then lets try adding some hormones...

- Lorelai, Taylor exclaimed. - Easy on the neck.

- ...I have _gazillions_ of hormones pulsing through my body every single second, Lorelai continued, not loosening her grip one single bit. - I'm so very much stressed at this point, I'm pretty sure I could plead insanity in a murder trial and get away with it, regardless the jury. As I'm pretty sure you don't have a death wish and I don't have a desire to spend the rest of my life in a psychiatric facility, which is what you're driving me towards. Tell me what I'll have to do to make the torture go away or so help me, God, I will make it so slow and painful for you that Niska himself would be impressed!

- Lorelai, Taylor objected.

- What do you want, Lorelai asked, forcefully, grabbing his shoulders with enough force to make sure he would be feeling it for a week or two.

- I want an ice-cream truck, Taylor replied.

- _What?_

- I want to sell ice cream off a truck in the summer, Taylor elaborated. - I want to park it in front of the soda shop. I want to ring the _bell_ on it every day at noon. But the only place I can park it is the space that's partly in front of Luke's diner.

- I'm trying _really_ hard to wrap my mind around how tormenting _me_ will help you in _any_ way in getting a stupid ice cream truck!

- How is it that whenever you or Luke refer to any of my businesses, you use the word _stupid_, Taylor remarked. - I mean, am I to assume you wouldn't be interested in buying a nice cold ice cream off my truck in one of those warm, sunny summer days?

- _Taylor,_ Lorelai barked, annoyed.

- You have pull with Luke, Taylor pointed out, quickly.

Lorelai made an only _slightly_ visible flinch as Taylor mentioned Luke. The constant fear of anyone in town figuring out the deal before she had the chance to tell Luke, made a fleeting appearance in the back of her mind.

- What, she asked, nervously.

- Come off it Lorelai, it's common knowledge that Luke never agrees to _anything_ unless _you_ talk him into it, Taylor replied, rolling his eyes. - That's why I need you to convince him that this truck is a _terrific_ idea, despite your rather hasty outburst just now. I think the truck will bring lots of joy to the children. If this next one of yours even remotely take after you, he or she is guaranteed to have a sweet tooth the size of Grand Canyon.

- So we're down to blackmail, Lorelai commented, ignoring her inner voice pointing out that her child could possibly take after his or her father when it came to the attitude on candy. - I don't get to start work on the Inn until you get the truck.

- I'd like to think of it more as a two-way beneficial business agreement, Taylor shrugged.

- So I get Luke to agree, this all stops, she asked.

- All the obstacles will fade away, Taylor promised.

- Alright, Lorelai said, easing her hold of the man.

- A pleasure doing business with you, Taylor said with a nod. - I'll get in touch with you tomorrow.

Lorelai stood still watching Taylor walk away, as something that was nagging at her made her call out.

- I want a contract.

Taylor stopped and turned around.

- I'm sorry. _What?_

- I want a contract, Lorelai empathized. - I want you to write down my terms, no fine printing, everything in large letters for even a nearly blind senior citizen to read, where you state that under no circumstances will you, the historic society or anyone besides me, Sookie and the people we employ have anything to say about what's to happen with our property. I use my pull with Luke to get you the truck, you have the contract drawn up by tomorrow. Sign it in triplicates so the next time you pull a stunt like this, I can flash the contract in your face.

- Lorelai, Taylor said, reluctantly. - A contract is a serious matter, it's not something you draw up on a whim.

- An oral agreement is only as good as the paper it's written on, Taylor, Lorelai remarked. - I have a feeling I learned that from you. If you want the truck, you'll agree to my conditions.

- I'm not the one who's desperate, Taylor pointed out.

- And I'm not the one who's pissing off a hormonal, pregnant woman which, depending on the woman, is bordering on the danger level of waving a big, red sheet in front of a raging bull, Lorelai replied.

There was a moment of silence where she stared him down as he contemplated his options. Finally after what seemed like five hours, but realistically probably wasn't longer that five, maybe ten minutes, Taylor gave a sigh.

- Well, alright then, he said.

Making no facial expression to indicate how relieved she was of the answer, Lorelai simply nodded.

- By tomorrow, she reminded him and turned around.

Even though it was late and it was long after closing, Lorelai knew she wouldn't be able to sleep if she thought even for a minute that Luke would say no to the truck. Considering Luke's dislike for Taylor, the likelihood that he wanted to say yes to anything that might please the older man, was slim to none. Yet, with the exception of his constant reluctance to add chili topped pringles on his menu, Luke had yet to say no to anything she asked him. However, the possibility of it would be enough to rob her for yet another night of sleep. That and the fact that she'd been standing less than hundred feet from the diner was enough to steer her in the direction of Luke's, rather than just go home.

She was far from surprised when she saw the empty diner in front of her, but the way a couple of the lights were still on was a bit strange. So, seeing if she maybe could spot him in the kitchen nook, cleaning the grill or something, she leaned towards the door and yelped as it gave in and opened. Managing just to stop herself from falling, she closed the door behind her and did a quick scan of the room to see if Luke was anywhere to be seen. When she didn't spot him, she made her way through the curtain and up the stairs. Seeing that the light was still on, she gently, but firmly tapped the door and waited.

- Lorelai, Luke asked as he opened the door.

Before he could ask anything else, she passed him as she entered his apartment. She raised her brows as she spotted Dean sleeping in Jess' bed from when the nephew'd been living there, but with her mind completely wrapped around getting Luke to agree to the truck, she decided to ask about that later. Her gaze returning to Luke, who had closed the door behind her, she blurted out.

- Give him his ice-cream truck.

- What, Luke asked, confused.

- He has me jumping through hoops, Lorelai continued, not even registering Luke's confusion. - He's a mad man, he keeps sending these letters and there's regulations. And the meetings and questions and six am walkthroughs. And it won't stop, it'll just keep going on until you agree or I'm committed to an insane asylum, which believe me will happen soon.

- Who has you what, Luke asked, watching her pace back and forth.

- And it's not even like you own the street, Lorelai rambled on. - He could probably park his stupid truck wherever he wants without you getting any say, but still he keeps up with the torture and now I need you to change your mind. I'm begging you for the sake of my sanity, let the guy get the stupid parking spot. Until he gets it, he'll bury _me_ in paperwork and inspections and the work will never start and everything I've worked for will just go down the drain.

- Lorelai, please calm down, Luke begged.

- I can't calm down, Lorelai replied, continuing to pace back and forth despite her constantly increasing nausea. - Taylor's driving me crazy with this thing. Not that that's anything new, but I'm telling you it's worse than ever. He has his eyes set on that ice-cream truck...

- An ice-cream truck...?

- ...and you won't say yes, so then he turns to me, because we're friends and long story short, I can't start construction on the Inn, my _dream_, until you reconsider and let him park his ringy-dingy ice-cream truck, not even in front of the diner, but _partly_ in front of the diner.

As she finished she made a quick dash towards the bathroom, barely managing to fight her stomach's urge to empty itself of the dinner she ate earlier long enough to reach the toilet. Retching hard, it took her a couple of minutes to realize that not only had Luke followed her into the bathroom, he was also holding her hair while stroking her back. She felt as though her stomach would never empty, as it seemed to just go on forever. When she finally finished and flushed the toilet, Luke handed her a paper napkin and helped her up. Giving her some privacy to freshen up, he left the room.

Planting her hands on either side of the sink, she looked into the mirror and saw her pale and pasty self look back at her. Her stomach was cramping from just having gone from full to empty. Her stress level was still dangerously high. Combining that with her lack of sleep from the night before, the bitter taste in her mouth and the fact that she was already beginning to get hungry again, she was feeling worse than crap on toast. And looking into the mirror she knew she looked it as well. She let the tap run with cold water and splashed some of it in her face in order to both wake her up as well as washing away the sweat. She tried her best to rid herself of the horrible aftertaste in her mouth, but there was no use.

After drying off her face, she again peaked into the mirror. Her skin looked less pasty and the warmth of the room had brought a slight flush to her cheeks. She still felt like crap, but she felt more presentable and finally opened the door to the bathroom, knowing Luke was probably waiting for her to come out. He was and handed her a glass of juice the minute she stepped out.

- To get rid of the taste, he explained and motioned for her to sit down.

She did. He looked at her with a slightly worried expression.

- You alright, he asked.

- Yeah, Lorelai sighed. - It's just morning sickness.

She noticed that even though he nodded as though he understood, he still looked to be worried about her.

- Don't worry, she told him. - It's completely natural. It's not my favorite thing and it makes me feel like goo, but it's part of the process.

Luke nodded again.

- I'm gonna get some Saltines tomorrow to help me with the nausea, she told him. - By the way, thanks for holding my hair back there. I really appreciate it.

- That's good. And no problem, he replied, meeting her gaze, then quickly got up. - Um... are you hungry? I could fix you something light to eat.

She wanted to say no. Say that she was alright, but her stomach was rumbling almost painfully.

- By light, are we talking about a salad, she enquired. - Or is there a chance for a woman to get some coffee as well?

- No coffee, he told her, firmly, as she suspected he would. - If you want something warm, you can drink tea.

- Blah, Lorelai pouted.

Luke returned with a bowl of cut up fruit, two slices of toast and some saltine crackers. Although she was sure he knew a lot about nutrition, being in the food industry, not to mention being somewhat of a health nut, she was still surprised he knew to give her toast and crackers to help her with her morning sickness.

- By the way, he told her. - I'm fine with it.

- What, Lorelai asked, confused.

- Taylor can park it there.

- Are you sure, Lorelai asked, surprised.

- Sure, Luke shrugged. - If he wants to park partly outside the diner, then what do I care?

- But why did you say no when Taylor asked you first? Why did he have to go through me?

- He never asked me, Luke shrugged.

- You mean, he put me through all this hell for nothing, Lorelai asked in disbelief. - That if he'd come in and asked you, you'd be fine with it?

- It's a public street, Luke pointed out.

The urge to give Taylor a slow and painful death slowly re-emerged in her mind.

- And even if my insanity hadn't been at stake, you'd say the same, she asked.

- I'd say yes, Luke confirmed.

- You know what, she said, not bothering to hear an answer. - I'm not gonna let him get away with this. This is the _last_ time he puts me through misery to get something from you. He's signing that contract and the next time he even as much as _thinks_ about doing anything like this ever again, I'm not gonna help him one bit and there'd be nothing he could do about it.

If Luke wondered about the contract, he didn't ask it. Instead he just listened, patiently. Then as she drank up the juice, he got up and refilled the glass for her. Feeling calmer, not to mention relieved, she once again spotted Dean, who against all odds had been sleeping through it all, despite her many high volume outbursts.

- So, she said. - You have Dean crashing here. Last time I checked you weren't that best of pals. So what happened?

- A case of beer in the JC Parking lot, Luke replied.

- _Huh,_ Lorelai asked.

- Dean had a bit too much to drink at his bachelor party. And I figured it'd be best if he stayed here rather than having one of his friends dragging him home, Luke shrugged.

- You're one decent human being, Luke Danes, Lorelai said, softly, gazing into his eyes.

- Yeah, well, Luke shrugged.

A sudden grunt from the corner made Lorelai burst into laughter, skillfully interrupting whatever moment that had passed between the two of them.

- It's late, Lorelai pointed out, getting up.

- Yeah, Luke nodded.

- I got almost no sleep last night, she added.

- Then you should...

- Yeah, she nodded, going towards the door. - You still good with the truck?

- I'm good with the truck, Luke confirmed.

- Bless you, Lorelai said, as she went out the door.

TBC


	40. It was a false alarm

AN: This alert-strike of Fanfiction dot net has really started to bug me, because it makes sure that many of my regular readers don't even know that I've updated and it cuts down the number of reviews. And it forces me to hold back chapters in hope that more reviews comes in. This chapter here was done yesterday, but I decided to hold it back. As usual, thank you, Steph for betaing.

**Caffeination** - Aww, now that's really touching to hear. I'm really glad you feel that way and I hope I can continue delivering :) About Lorelai rambling. I dunno if there's more rambling than usual, I mean these are very stressful situations, which does get her babbling more. Plus you might be right that the narration makes it seem like she says more, because the readers get to know more than what she's saying.

**BIG FAN** - Wow, that's really flattering to hear. Well, Lorelai's about 7 1/2 months along, now. She's closing in on the end of it, but she still has some time left before the baby's due.

**ImOzGosh** - Lorelai is still waiting for the right moment. And you're right about it being worse the longer she waits. And unless you find the 'Luke abandoning her' option to be in his character I don't think you should worry. Unlike the current season I strive to keep them IN character.

**flcrkr** - Thank you for the hug. I've been talking about it all with several people and I know that I'll be okay in the end. I don't really have a choice, you know. Giving up just isn't an option for me. Yeah, I too would've loved to see Lorelai attack Taylor in some way, preferably throwing the gavel at him, because he really gets on people's nerves. I find myself whenever I watch that chapter tensing up as Lorelai goes through Taylor's torture.

**gilmorian** - Wow, sounds to me that I might've won you over. I won't count my chickens yet, but from what you wrote it makes me wonder if I might've just done that. As for the last thing you wrote, go back and read my AN one more time, the _whole_ AN and you'll know the answer.

* * *

Having just left Natalie, the Dragonfly's newly hired designer, behind at the store as she wanted to look around a bit more for hidden treasures, Sookie and Lorelai were walking, or with their being in their later stage of pregnancy they were more like waddling down the street towards the market. Since sometime during their exciting furniture browsing verging on shopping, Lorelai had acted kind of distant and less talkative than she normally was and Sookie couldn't help but wonder what was behind it and why Lorelai yet hadn't confided in her as to why.

- So, Natalie's nice, she said, trying to engage her friend in conversation.

- Yeah, Lorelai replied, absently.

- I really loved the end tables she showed us, Sookie continued, eyeing her friend. - You know? With the carvings on them. It'll help bring out the feeling of the old Dragonfly, don't you think?

- Uh huh, Lorelai said, seeming oddly fascinated with the porcelain unicorns displayed in the window of the shop they were passing.

- Alright, Sookie stated, doing a full halt. - Honey, what's wrong?

- What? Nothing, Lorelai shrugged.

- You've been elsewhere ever since the store. You hardly said anything to Natalie after she showed us the end tables and now you're taking this very sudden interest in the porcelain unicorn store display. Did something happen back at the store that I didn't see? Because I thought you loved Natalie.

- I do, Lorelai objected. - It's just... Natalie knows my mother.

- Emily, Sookie asked, surprised.

- No, Agatha... of course Emily, Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. - Natalie did her second-floor remodel about a year ago.

- Oh, Sookie winced, visibly. - So she _really_ knows your mother.

- They've been shopping together. It's a bond, Sook, Lorelai muttered, looking everywhere but her friend. - I don't know if I...

- Lorelai, no, Sookie replied, determinedly, knowing exactly what Lorelai was gonna say.

- But she knows my _mother_, Lorelai pointed out.

- So?

- So, I can't have my mother interfering with my work. She's already doing that enough with my personal life.

- Honey, Sookie said, placing her hands on either one of her best friend's shoulder, looking Lorelai in the eyes. - You're being paranoid. So Natalie once worked for your mother, so what? It doesn't automatically make Natalie her spy, her way in. We found Natalie. _We._ Hasn't your mother had hundreds of people working for her?

- Thousands, Lorelai corrected.

- Exactly. That makes it pretty hard to find someone in the area with the expertise we're looking for that has no past relation with Emily. Do I need to remind you of all the horrible designers we met with _before_ Natalie came into the picture? They were horrible.

- I guess, Lorelai sighed.

- First there was the _'danger, danger'_ guy, who wanted to remove every inventory piece that might in some way hurt the guests, remember him? It was like he was taken out of a Lemony Snicket story. Then we had the one with the purple obsession.

- Purple, purple, purple, Lorelai chuckled.

- But the price goes to the one that wanted to put a tiny mannequin in every room, so that the lonely people would have someone to talk to, Sookie said, with a shudder.

- Yeah, Lorelai nodded. - That one was creepy.

- Do you really want to go back to seeing people like that?

- No. I guess I can live with it, Lorelai sighed. - But if she starts placing the candles exactly six inches apart...

- ...she's out of here, Sookie finished.

- All I needed to hear.

- So you'll give her a chance, Sookie asked. - You won't start acting suspicious, asking her trick questions, making her uncomfortable?

- Scouts honor, Lorelai replied.

- You've never been a scout, Sookie pointed out.

- Then lets make it movie-o-holic's honor.

- Is there even such a thing?

- Sookie, Lorelai exclaimed. - I give you my word, isn't that enough?

- Would you swear in the name of coffee?

- Yes, Lorelai laughed. - I swear in the name of coffee.

- Good, Sookie grinned. - Hey, did I tell you I've decided on a name?

- _No_, Lorelai replied. - You have? Already?

- Already, Sookie remarked, surprised. - I'm eight months along. I'd thought you of all people would pounce on me for not deciding on it until now.

- What are you calling him, Lorelai asked, obviously ignoring that last remark.

- Davey, Sookie replied.

- Aw, _Davey_? You're calling him Davey? I love Davey.

- Me too, Sookie sighed.

- Wow, you've picked the name. I can't believe how real that makes it.

- Yeah, because my body's usually this swollen, Sookie deadpanned.

- How's Jackson liking it, Lorelai asked, once more ignoring the remark. - Or haven't you told him yet?

- Told him what, Sookie asked, confused.

- That you're pregnant, of course, Lorelai deadpanned. - The name? Did you mention the name to Jackson?

- It was his idea, Sookie said. - He wanted Davey if it was a boy and Colgate for a girl.

- Colgate, Lorelai asked, rasing a brow.

- His great-grandmother's name, Sookie explained.

- Of course.

- But since he doesn't know we're not having a girl and he'd hate it if I spoiled it for him. And he'd known it if I didn't fight him on it, I announced to him that I wasn't letting him name our daughter after a toothpaste. And we got into this huge fight and now we're not talking.

- Everything's as it should be, Lorelai chuckled.

- I know. My baby finally has a name and my husband's currently sleeping on the couch.

- For how long?

- I think we'll make up tonight. Tomorrow night for sure. I just can't sleep when he's not there, you know?

- I wouldn't know, Sook.

- Oh, Sookie groaned, slapping her hand over her head, feeling horrible. - I'm so sorry, I just keep forgetting you've been doing this all alone. I'm such an idiot.

- You're really not, Lorelai insisted.

- No, I am, but lets stop talking about me, now. Have you got any names yet?

- No, nothing yet, Lorelai sighed, not meeting her gaze.

- That's just because you don't know what you're having yet. You'll figure it out soon enough, Sookie insisted. - If you want, I can lend you the baby name book, since I won't be needing it anymore. It has a lot of great suggestions. I'm sure you'll find something in there you like.

- Hope so, Lorelai sighed. - I just feel so unprepared.

- What, Sookie asked, surprised. - You've already had one. I get that you're a bit rusty, but once you get into it I'm sure things will be alright.

- No, not that. I meant with the preparations. Rory's old stuff were all given away to charity once we cleaned out the garage. I only have the few items I stored away in the closet as keepsakes. I don't even have a crib ready. You, however, you're like _Miss Prepared_. You even have a surround sound baby monitor.

- Actually, we don't anymore. Jackson short wired the whole thing and we can't afford to fix it right now, Sookie said. - But where is all this coming from all of a sudden? You still have time to get everything.

- This morning I woke up with contractions.

- Contractions, Sookie asked, worried.

- Braxton Hicks.

- Oh, Sookie said in realization. - Yeah, those can be really uncomfortable.

- And you know how when you wake up, you're kind of out of it?

- Because you've just been asleep, Sookie pointed out.

- Right, so I wake up with these pains and of course I panic. I almost called the hospital, but by the time I got downstairs to the phone, that was when I realized what they were...

- ...false labor, Sookie supplied. - Nothing to worry about at all.

- I know, but the whole time when I thought it was the real deal, this voice in my head pointed out I don't have any of the stuff I need. And when I realized that I'd just panicked for no reason, this new thought emerged in my head. What if this had been the real deal? I still haven't decided where to put the baby. A crib in my bedroom? And what about when he or she gets too big to sleep in mommy's bedroom, what then? Do give him or her Rory's room?

- Okay, lets not start worrying about _that_ just yet, Sookie suggested. - One hurdle at a time. Come with me.

- Where are we going, Lorelai asked, as Sookie pulled her with her along the street.

- We are going to go get you started on the basics, Sookie explained. - Clothes, a crib. Hey are you gonna be breastfeeding? Did you breastfeed Rory when she was a baby?

- Mom didn't want me to. Since she was still hoping that once I got my figure back she could once more try to give me a coming out ball, she told me breastfeeding would only help make my breasts sag like crazy. So, of course I did it.

- Alright, Sookie chuckled. - So I'm assuming you'll do the same with this one, so we'll need one of those nursing pillows for relaxation while breastfeeding, not to mention those nursing pads to put in your bra so you don't get wet spots from the milk.

- I know that, Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. - I've had one, remember?

- Yeah, I'm sorry, Sookie said, sheepishly. - I know you have. We'll go over the rest of the list at the stores and whatever we forget we'll just come back for some other day.

- Didn't you say you have plans with Jackson?

- He's still trying to find some other way to fix the sound system, Sookie shrugged. - So we have time.

Having reached the baby store, Sookie pulled Lorelai with her inside.

- So, she said. - What do you want to look at first? Cribs and other supplies or baby clothes?

- It's all pink and blue, Lorelai remarked, gazing at the various newborn clothes to their left.

- Yeah, Sookie replied, knowing what Lorelai meant.

- You know, the reason I've waited so long to get this stuff is because I was planning on doing a theme thing. Like if I was having a girl, everything from top to toe, from blankets to pacifiers would be pink and then it'd be blue if it was a boy. I figured I'd get it all once I knew what I was having.

- Then why didn't you, Sookie asked, having wondered about that since Lorelai's first ultrasound appointment.

- Because it's not fair for me to know what I'm having when I haven't even told the baby's father that he's gonna be a daddy.

- And why haven't you, Sookie asked, getting to the bottom of it.

- Do you sometimes wonder how many people have done that, Lorelai asked, obviously ignoring that last question. - How many people have done the whole color theme thing because of the ultrasound results and then gotten a surprise at the birth? Like people thinking they were having boys got girls and vice versa? We know blue goes well with a girl, but if it'd gone the other way, then those people'd spent a fortune on clothes and things they'd never get to use. Do you think they got their money back? Like an 'oops, I got a boy' return policy?

- Well, Sookie shrugged. - We could always lay off the pink and just go with blue.

- I don't wanna do the blue thing, when I don't know what I'm having.

- Then we can go color neutral. Yellow's pretty neutral. Or, hey, green. You could go with green.

- I can't go with green, Lorelai stated.

- But why, Sookie asked confused.

- Green's the new pink.

- I'm not sure if I should even ask what you mean with that.

- Remember how I told you about being forced into attending Sherry Tinsdale's baby shower, Lorelai asked, not waiting for an answer. - Well, there I learned a bit about baby trends.

- Baby trends, Sookie asked, confused.

- Yeah, I know. Apparently pink is out and green's in. They never did inform me what the new blue was though, so I'd know what other colors to avoid.

- If you're planning on excluding colors based on some stupid trend, you don't exactly leave us much to buy, Sookie pointed out. - By this rate we only have red, yellow, brown and orange left, since purple is more leaning towards girls than boys.

- Unless purple's the new blue, Lorelai quipped. - In which case I'd avoid that as well.

- Okay, new suggestion. We don't do a theme. We mix and match. If worst comes to worst you'll have only a couple of things you can't use. And when the baby's born, then you can make a theme.

Getting her friend's nod of approval, they went to work. By the time they even reached the equipment section, Lorelai had spent almost a small fortune on the clothes. Most of it were sensible purchases, easy-buttoned bodies, almost all of them white with various cute motifs over the chest. They bought two pajamases to start with, knowing very well that there would be more coming once the little one had entered the world. One was red, the other, to Sookie's insistence was green. With the weather turning colder, Lorelai also made sure to purchase outerwear sized newborn to three months. Then came some clothes sized three to six months, for the baby to grow into.

After some discussions and persuasions Lorelai went with the green bassinet since the color was, as Sookie pointed out, the most neutral one, no matter what the trends said. The crib she chose, however, was white. Wanting to take some more time reading up on tests on car seats as well as ones concerning changing tables, Lorelai made the decision to wait a bit with buying those things, so the two friends moved on to smaller, but still very important purchases. As Lorelai once again moved to the register to pay for the purchases, Sookie looked at the not so small pile of equipment and outed a very important question.

- How are we gonna bring all this to your house?

TBC


	41. I want you to cater my party

AN: And here comes one of the odd short chapters inbetween my monstrous ones... lol. Steph, as always, thanks for the betaing. And _yay_ the alerts are working again, _finally!_ And even more good news, I'm finally one chapter ahead in writing again, so if you're good and review the updates might start coming faster :P

**ME** - 1) _"..Many pregnant women will experience morning sickness in pregnancy, most of them will experience it in early pregnancy, though a few will have it in the third trimester. The unlucky ones experience both..."_ This statement is backed up by Pregnancy About dot com, my friend Renathe, mother of a toddler and my friend Rose whose friend is currently experiencing morning sickness in her third trimester. I _would_ ask my mom and my sister to back me up as well, but I felt that would be a little overkill. 2) First of all, if you're gonna make accusations, why don't you make it complete with a list over the facts that you mean I've "gotten wrong", so I might actually have a chance to defend myself. I don't claim to be an expert on the subject as I've never been pregnant myself and there are always the chance that I've been misinformed on certain matters. Secondly, make sure you have your own facts straight before you make accusations. More importantly, be sure to use a polite way to do it. More writers than you think are very open for receiving critisism, but if you're rude when you give it, they will just ignore it. 3) That you feel Lorelai is out of character is your business and I can't do anything to change that, but honestly. If you feel this way and I annoy you this much with what I do, then _why_ did you read all the way to chapter 39? It isn't a requirement to read this fic, you know. So if you hate it so much, why are you still reading?

**scubaluver** - I'm glad to see that you've returned and I hope that you'll be happy with what's coming or at least be understanding (don't you love me when I'm being mysterious?). I'm glad you've at least reached an understanding when it comes to the feel I'm trying to keep.

**Gymtig** - Yes, Lorelai knew Sherry was "wacked" for thinking green was the new pink, but the anti-Sherry in her just made her want to avoid the color because of that.

**Cinny72** - In the spirit of "gilmoregirl1979" I'm just saying one thing - don't watch, write complaints to Ausiello and read fanfiction instead!

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - I agree that green is good for both. It's a pretty color. And thank you for the assurance that you'll continue to review for every single chapter (I do think you have done that, at least as far as I remember, but I have a horrible memory and I've been writing on this story for... 6 months and 2 days... WOW, where do the time go?)

**bianca89** - That last question of yours is a good one and the answer to it is: she's won't.

* * *

Letting out a frustrated cry as her poor excuse for a crib collapsed in front of her for what had to be the fifteenth time that day, Lorelai cursed herself for not having accepted Luke's offer to put together the crib for her. She didn't know why she'd said no as she had never before said no to any of his help, on the contrary. But it was like there was something with the crib that told her she had to do this herself, despite how her inner voice pointed out how it was usual for the father of the baby to be the one doing this. That had never really been an occurrence in the Gilmore family history. Lorelai simply couldn't picture her father bent over all the different pieces of a crib, patiently putting it all together. Her father was a suit man. He left the house early in the morning and didn't return until dinner at the earliest.

Emily was even less of a person to work with her hands. The only time Lorelai could remember seeing her mother get her hands dirty was whenever Emily felt the urge to do some gardening. Of course it was always simple things, such as repotting a plant, cutting stems, removing withered leaves and only for the sake of passing time.

Back when Lorelai's pregnancy with Rory had become physically apparent and her mother and father thought it was time to maybe get the most basic equipment, Emily had hired professionals to take care of everything, leaving Lorelai no say in the matter. The crib, despite being at least ten times as expensive, having been carved by hand and was more or less a one of a kind, had not really been that much different from the one Lorelai was assembling at the moment, or at least trying to. They both were of similar sizes, both had a kind of a cream white color to them that she'd never really imagined herself picking out, yet for some reason she had. For a fleeting second a twisted part of her brain suggested that maybe the reason she got this particular crib was _because_ it made her think of the other one and maybe, just _maybe_, the reason she'd insisted on putting it together all by herself was all based in how there once had been a time where every decision had been made for her. That this was her way of making everything up to herself. Overcompensating by doing everything in _this_ pregnancy that she hadn't been allowed to do in the last one.

She felt like such an idiot.

Fighting the urge to bother her very busy daughter, who was striving away at college, Lorelai once again bent over the pieces that in some way were supposed to become a working crib. The instructions that had come with the crib were nothing short of a joke. If she was to believe it, she lacked half of the things needed and had twice as much of the rest. Nothing was where the illustrations said they were. As she once again stood in front of something that looked as though Picasso and Salvador Dali had been responsible for putting it together, the phone rang downstairs. A part of her hoped and somewhat expected it to be Luke calling, once again offering his services. _Dirty._

- It keeps falling apart, she complained, answering the phone.

- _What way is that to greet someone_, Emily asked in the other end.

- Mom, Lorelai asked, surprised. - I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else.

- _And who would that be, Lorelai?_

- It's not important, she dismissed. - Um... so, why are you calling?

- _Do I need a reason to want to talk to my daughter,_ Emily asked.

Lorelai always became suspicious whenever her mother started a conversation that way. Emily always did it when she was looking to get something out of her, by first attempting to relax her and then when she least expected it, the hook would emerge.

- No, she sighed. - You don't need a reason, but you usually have one.

- _Well, I was calling to ask how you're doing._

- I'm fine, mother. How are _you_ doing, Lorelai asked, resisting the urge to do a Joey-impression.

- _I'm also fine, thank you for asking,_ Emily replied. - _Is there anything new going on with you?_

- Nothing new since Friday, mom, Lorelai promised.

- _But you would tell me if there were any important events in your life?_

Lorelai could just hear her inner voice spell out the word _'danger'_ in big letters for her. This was the tone her mother had whenever she had something on her. A feeling Lorelai hated more than any other.

- Yes, she insisted.

- _Uh huh,_ Emily said. - _So, I am just to assume that it slipped your mind to tell me about your new catering business?_

_And there's the catch._

- Who told you about that?

- _So you_ were _hiding it,_ Emily pointed out.

- No, mom, Lorelai sighed. - It just slipped my mind, just like you said. I'm sorry.

- _Do you take me for an idiot,_ Emily asked. - _First you hide the fact that you're pregnant from me..._

- Not _that_ again, Lorelai muttered under her breath.

- _...and now you're even trying to cover up the fact that you, as usual, neglected to tell your father and me about yet another important event in your life,_ Emily continued.

- So, you just called here to yell at me, is that it, Lorelai asked, tired of her mother's constant complaining.

- _I called to discuss the details on the party._

- What party, Lorelai asked, confused.

- _You mean, Sookie didn't tell you?_

- Tell me what?

Lorelai swore she could _hear_ her mother roll her eyes.

- _I called Sookie this morning to see if she might be interested to cater the launch party I am having for your father._

- First, you're telling me you asked Sookie _this_ morning and you're expecting me to know about it already? And secondly, you're launching dad's business _again_? Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't we do that over a year ago?

- _We are promoting his going into partnership with Jason, Lorelai,_ Emily reminded her. - _It's important in business to make your clients aware of important events in your company to build up trust. Events like these have to be carefully planned and you need to get a hold of the best, which is why I called Sookie and asked her if she would be interested to cater for me and she said_ 'We'd love to'_, so, of course I asked_ 'We?' _and she told me about your little company._

- Well, it's only a temporary thing, Lorelai pointed out. - Some minor jobs until the baby's born.

- _Which means you will still be in business a week from Thursday,_ Emily pointed out.

- Mom, I'm not sure if the two of us catering for you is such a good idea.

- _Why wouldn't it be,_ Emily asked, confused. - _You have a catering company and I am hiring you to cater for me._

- It's just, your events are kind of high stress, high maintenance events and I'm not sure it's such a wise idea, considering the circumstances.

- _Well, don't you have workers? Isn't your job description just to oversee them and make sure that the event runs smoothly?_

- It's not me I'm worried about, mom, Lorelai sighed. - You know how Sookie is. She gets so involved in these jobs that she can't sleep unless everything is absolutely perfect and even though I'm used to that by now I just don't think it's good to put her through all this stress when she's this far along, especially not a job of this scale.

- _You're telling me Sookie's pregnant as well,_ Emily asked, not waiting for confirmation. - _My_ God, _it's like an epidemic._

- Yes, she is and once she gets into a job, she _really_ gets into it and I think it might be too much for her.

- _Well, don't you have workers to help Sookie out in the kitchen?_

- Of course we do, Lorelai sighed, searching her mind for a way to explain. - But when it comes to cooking, Sookie is incapable of limiting herself. She wants to make sure every single detail is absolutely perfect, by doing it all herself, which is alright when you're, say, catering a kid's birthday party or something to that effect, but taking on a major launch party like this, it'll exhaust her.

- _Honestly, Lorelai. You're describing your friend and business partner as though she was a child in need of constant supervision and not a grown woman, capable of taking care of herself,_ Emily accused.

Throwing her head backwards, Lorelai fought the urge to give any sort of audible response to this. _Leave it to Emily to deliberately misinterpret everything I say._ It wasn't as though she thought Sookie needed constant supervision, despite her frequent accidents while cooking, such as cuts and burns all over. Having been there so many times, her friend probably knew her way around the doctor's office better than the people actually working there. These little accidents were things Lorelai had gotten accustomed to over the years and with the exception of the exact moments they occurred, they didn't really affect her as much. And she knew Sookie always meant to take things easy, especially now in her condition, but years of experience had taught Lorelai that whenever there was a meal that the bubbly chef deemed important, she simply was incapable of restraining herself, letting other people do their part of the work. And that only lead to Sookie doing more than her workload which again resulted in added stress. But to explain this to Emily...

- _I tell you, if any other company I was hiring was acting this dysfunctional, I would fire them on the spot._

- Then don't hire us, mom, Lorelai sighed.

- _Are you really this set against working for your mother,_ Emily asked.

- No, Lorelai groaned, despite the fact that it was a lie.

Her happiness, her sanity, it all relied on how much she managed to avoid that house and the idea of returning to it outside the obligatory Friday night dinners, regardless the money this job offered her, was less than tempting. And saying yes to working for Emily Gilmore was probably as clever as entering a haunted house in Japan. But having a baby to support as well as launching a new business herself, Lorelai knew very well that she needed all the money she could get. And this job would pay more than any other job she and Sookie could get before Davey and little _no-name_ was born, thus terminating the Independence Catering Company.

- Fine, we'll take the job, Lorelai sighed.

- _Don't say yes just on my account,_ Emily remarked. - _I could always take my business elsewhere, where it'd be wanted._

Lorelai bit her lip in attempt to stifle a groan. This was Emily's typical memo, first she put all her energy into talking someone into something, then when the victim caved, she turned tables in order to maintain control over the target.

- We'll be happy to do it, Lorelai said in a fake chipper voice.

- _And you're sure you won't suddenly change your mind on me again,_ Emily asked.

- I'm sure, Lorelai sighed.

- _Oh, really?_

- _Mom_, will you just give me the details on the party, already?

- _Alright,_ Emily replied. - _I'll be needing a mixture of white, off-white and cream-colored linen. A simple bone china with a gold or deep-blue stripe will work._

- Okay, got it, what else?

- _I'm going with tapers cut in half, so that people can see each other across the table. With that we'll be needing white and sterling roses, but make sure they're not too high or formal. I trust you have a florist?_

- The florist is taken care of. What about vases, clear or silver?

- _I always did find clear vases to be tacky,_ Emily remarked.

- Alright, silver it is, Lorelai said, writing it down. - How many settings are we talking about?

- _I will have to get back to you on that, I still need to get the number of guests Jason's planning on inviting,_ Emily replied.

- Okay, so I guess we'll set up a trial setting and tasting sometime next week, Lorelai suggested.

- _I'll call to let you know the time._

- Okay, good, Lorelai said, preparing to hang up. - Bye mom.

- _Bye, Lorelai,_ Emily replied.

As she hung up, Lorelai heard sudden, but familiar crashing sounds coming from upstairs, no doubt coming from the crib once again falling apart. Groaning, she sunk onto the couch, resting her head in her hands. _Great. Now, what do I do?_

TBC


	42. I hate broccoli, too

AN: Well happy early, Halloween people! You know, when I was little people didn't celebrate Halloween here in Norway. So I never got to go trick or treating, like the kids have started to do now. So one time at Jr. high me and some friends were having a Halloween party and we decided, just for the hell of it, to go trick or treating. We never expected to get anything, but by the end of the round we'd gotten a whole grocery bag full of goodies. One person even gave us money. That's my one, my only trick or treating story. However I do celebrate Halloween with a party and we had that party yesterday at the local "alternative" club. I dressed up as the most cheerful mechanic in the 'verse, better known as Kaylee, from Firefly. Of course I didn't win the costume competition, but one of my friends did. He dressed up as an exposer and spent the whole night exposing a banana he had dangling from his boxers to everyone and won "most scary costume". I think this is the only time in my life where I've seen a vampire being "raped" by an exposer... lol... another friend of mine dressed up as a vampire and he became "the exposer"'s favourite victim. First there was the ordinary exposing. Then later on, he sat on the vampire's lap while he _molested_ his banana, full on with grunts and facial expressions. I was laughing so hard it started to hurt. Then later on he made humping motion over the vampire. It was completely hilarious! 

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - Thank you for the compliment. I know that in this world it's not really "allowed" to be any kind of proud of oneself, but I do think I do Lorelai's character well. I might miss here and there with some of the others, but I like to think I know how to do Lorelai.

**smileyGGfan** - There you are:D I'm doing very well if I'm to say so. At my trip to Burger King yesterday, I ended up running into one of the members of the band I've gotten an assignment at work to make a website for and he told me that they actually talked about what I showed them last time for hours afterwards, which really is _the_ confidense booster, if you ask me. Plus finally getting back to being one chapter ahead of posting is also great. I haven't had that since back when I was writing chapter 22. How about you?

**gilmorian** - Luke's divorce is still suffering from lawyer problems, just like in the show. Most likely I'll have chapter 50 up before Christmas. I have a very busy life with school and several jobs. I already use almost my entire spare time writing (don't worry, I love every minute of it, but I need to relax as well, watch a movie, play a game... something). I'm entering a couple of weeks where I have to turn in many assignments, and I can't guarantee that I'll have a ton of time to write, but I'll do my best.

**JJFluffStuffForeva** - Yes, events that I have no control over, happen as they did on the show and I do my best to avoid scenes that has no changes by putting my chapters either before or after and just let the information needed to make my story understandable slip into the narration or lines. But sometimes a scene with little or no changes has to be included to make the story feel whole. I made a decision early on to make no time jumps in chapters and although many others do, I decided to _not_ use my AN to explain what happened/didn't happen between this chapter and the last. Instead I made the decision to write the story in a way that anyone, not just GG fans can read it without having to watch the episodes or check with the transcripts to see what I'm talking about in my AN's.

**Asta-Gilmore** - lol, one more person on board!

**Caffeination** - I have high doubts you'll reach my limits on long reviews, because I really love hearing opinions and I mean _really_ love it. Yeh, I know I didn't need to ask mom, since I had so many people backing me up already, but thanks for your support as well. As for the crib, I refer to the fact that Lorelai herself made a note of the oddness of her choice: _"...both had a kind of a cream white color to them that she'd never really imagined herself picking out, yet for some reason she had..."  
_

* * *

She didn't know how long she'd been waiting when she finally heard the knock on her door. Waddling over to the entrance, because there was no way she could get away with calling what she did '_walking_' anymore, she opened the door to find Luke at the other side, ready with his toolbox. _Dirty._

- You're late, she remarked, stepping aside to let him in.

- I have a business to run, he pointed out. - I can't drop everything and just come running.

- I called you several _days_ ago about this, Lorelai replied. - Remember?

- And I remember days before that again, where I offered to do this for you and you said you wanted to do this on your own.

- Okay, Lorelai sighed. - What's with the mood?

- I've had a bad day, Luke grunted. - What's your excuse?

- Just the universal excuse of all excuses; I'm pregnant, which means I really don't _need_ to have a specific reason for being moody, Lorelai pointed out. - And add an 's' at the end of 'day', because you, my friend, have been the World's Grumpiest Diner Owner for days now.

- I have not, Luke objected.

- Oh, really? Let's recap the last week, shall we, Lorelai suggested. - Monday, when I stopped by to get a well needed coffee so I'd survive the test meal my mother was making me do, instead of wishing me luck, you just barked at me.

- Kirk had just been by on _your_ suggestion, wanting to reserve a table for his big date. He even started bugging my customers on whether or not their food made them feel hot, Luke pointed out.

- How should I've known he was that comfortable at the diner, Lorelai shrugged. - And was it really _that_ bad?

- He wanted to rent my apartment in case the date went well, Luke added, dryly.

- Okay, that was kinda bad and I'm sorry, Lorelai agreed. - But before that, on Friday, when I came in to order, you just snapped and threw a bunch of post-its at me.

- Those were messages I'd collected that day because people decided to use _me_ as a message service to get to you, Luke remarked. - I missed a call from my meat guy because of that.

- And I said I'm sorry about that and that I would ask them to stop, and they did, didn't they, Lorelai pointed out. - And what about last Wednesday? I saw Ed coming out of the diner, crying and you shouting something after him. There's _no_ way you can pin that one on me.

- Well, Ed just bugs me, Luke shrugged.

- Since when, Lorelai challenged, receiving no reply. - Just admit it. For reason's you have yet to share with me, you've been barking at people for days.

- I have _not_.

- Uh, yes, _Cujo_, you have, Lorelai remarked.

- I always talk to people like that, Luke shrugged.

- No, _Benji_, you don't.

- Look, I'll be fine tomorrow.

- Really, _Lassie_, Lorelai asked. - Why is that?

- Look, would you _stop_ with the dog names?

- Come on, Lorelai laughed. - Aren't you a _little_ bit curious on how many I can come up with?

- Not really, he replied, dryly. - So, maybe I should get started on that crib?

- Um, yeah, right, Lorelai said. - Um... hey, so, do you want to do it down here? You know, since it's more spacious.

- And then what, carry a fully assembled crib up the stairs?

- Right, Lorelai chuckled, realizing the idiocy of her suggestion. - Common sense, your name's not Lorelai Gilmore.

Luke stopped in the doorway to her bedroom, seemingly observing the mess as well as the unrecognizable object that was meant to become a crib.

- How many times did you try to assemble this thing, he asked.

- Forty-two, Lorelai suggested.

- How many _actual_ times did you try to assemble this thing, he asked, giving her a look.

- Okay, so maybe I exaggerated, Lorelai shrugged. - But maybe that's how many attempts this thing need.

- Why exactly forty-two?

- Come on, Lorelai remarked. - _Forty-two._ The ultimate answer to life, the universe, everything? I thought you were a trekkie.

- First of all I never said I was a trekkie. _You_ said I was a trekkie, just because I wore a Star Trek t-shirt once.

- Not just once, Lorelai pointed out, remembering real well what Mia had told her. - You wore that shirt _everywhere_ for a year.

- That still doesn't make me a trekkie, Luke replied. - And even if I _was_ a trekkie, that doesn't mean I watch _everything_ that's science fiction related.

- _Hah_, Lorelai remarked. - You just admitted to being a trekkie, by knowing I wasn't referencing anything in Star Trek.

- It's just common sense, Luke remarked, placing his toolbox next to the crib that more resembled a piece of modern art than anything else.

Knowing she would just be in the way anywhere else, Lorelai sat down on the bed and watched him calmly taking apart her last attempt at assembling the crib.

- So you wanna talk about it, she asked.

- Talk about what, he asked, not turning around.

Lorelai admired Luke's ability to pay attention to a conversation whilst working on one thing or another. How often she'd managed to have a deep conversation without even having to look him in the eyes as she usually had to do with any other person simply amazed her.

- About why you're in this mood, she asked.

- I thought we already did, he replied.

- No, she corrected. - We basically covered some of the past week's grumpiness, by the way, you never told me why Ed bugged you on Wednesday.

- It's not important, Luke dismissed, continuing on his work.

- Why won't you tell me, Lorelai asked.

- It's just.., Luke started. - Well, I bought these game tickets for Nicole 'cause she's a Yankees fan. I thought it'd be nice if we went to a game together...

- Oh, Luke, Lorelai replied, feeling a mix of sadness for the man in front of her, as well as a pang of jealousy. - I'm sorry about what happened with Nicole.

- It's no big deal, Luke shrugged. - It's just some tickets and first I thought I'd just throw them away. I mean, I wouldn't be using them since I don't really like the Yankees. But the closer it got to the game, the more I felt like a loser.

- You're not a loser, Lorelai insisted.

- No, I'm just sitting on these tickets I'll never use, because I got them for my girlfriend, even though I never plan for anything more than two days in advance.

- Come on, Lorelai objected. - You can't be serious. Two days is nothing.

- Exactly, Luke replied. - If you stick to two days at a time, you'll never get your hopes up and you'll never be disappointed.

- Maybe, Lorelai shrugged. - But you'll never have anything to look forward to, either.

- And then I won't have to look forward to being disappointed, Luke remarked.

- I don't know, Lorelai said, silently. - For me, that's kinda sad.

Although Luke had a point in some of it, as there had been several times in her life where she'd felt constant disappointment. Every moment with her mother or father came to mind. By the end of her stay in that house she'd been close to Luke's philosophy on looking forward to things, but only when it came to her immediate family. She still looked forward to other things, like how she would get away for college or how she would be backpacking through Europe, which had come late, but come eventually. After she'd gotten pregnant, she'd started to look forward to meeting her baby and so far she couldn't think of anything Rory had done that had disappointed her. Rubbing her hand over her stomach, she knew that she was looking forward to meeting this little one as well, no matter how bad a timing it was to have another baby or how complicated the current situation was.

- So, is this why you've been practically barking at me for the past week, she asked.

- No, Luke replied. - I really did hate being your messenger boy and you sending Kirk in my direction.

- Speaking of Kirk, did he have the date yet?

- They were in yesterday, Luke said as he unscrewed the last screw in the crib, preparing himself to start from scratch.

- So, Lorelai asked, curious. - How did it go?

- It went pretty well, Luke shrugged. - She seemed to really like him.

- So how much did you charge him, Lorelai asked.

- For what?

- Him getting to use your apartment in case his date went well, Lorelai teased.

- Aw geez, Luke replied, uncomfortably. - That is a picture I _never_ want to imagine.

- By that, I'm guessing the mood isn't coming from Kirk's nightly activities.

- Would you _stop_ that, Luke asked. - For your information, my mood is based upon more lawyer troubles.

- So, Nicole's still bugging you, huh?

- Indirectly, yes, Luke sighed. - My lawyer, and don't even begin to point out the irony of me hiring a lawyer to get away from lawyer troubles, came in and had a million things to go through, most of it being stuff I've already gone through with Nicole's lawyers.

- So it's still going on, huh, Lorelai said, sympathetically, ignoring the feeling of jealousy that was coursing through her body at that very moment.

- Yeah, Luke replied. - So, it's been a bad week.

- If it's of any comfort, mine's been far from peachy as well, Lorelai pointed out. - I mean, first my _mother_ calls to tell me she's hired me and Sookie to do the catering for dad's party, which, of course, you know. And then she tells me she needs to have me and Sookie come in to do a tasting. Again, this is old news for you. So we come in, do our bowing and scraping, both, _very_ hard to do when you're eight months along or more. And after threading lightly for the better part of three hours, mom finally makes the decision to hire us.

She made a slight pause before continuing.

- And yesterday, my mother came here to tell me that there's been a change of plans and that we're not going to be catering after all and suddenly I'm stuck with twenty broccoli tarts, which, as much as I love Sookie's cooking, I'll never even consider to eat, no matter how hungry I am. I don't know if you know this, but as much as you hate the taste when they're going down, it's nothing compared to when they're coming back up, which was the constant result, since I discovered that as much as this baby loves his or her vegetables, broccoli isn't included on that list.

- I hate broccoli, too, Luke admitted.

Gawping at the revelation, Lorelai was almost stunned into silence. Almost. It did kinda make sense that Luke would hate the same vegetable that his son or daughter seemed to hate as well.

- Okay, I must be going mad, because I can swear I just heard Luke Danes, Mr. Healthy, himself say that he hates broccoli.

- What's the big deal, Luke asked. - So, I hate broccoli.

- Is there a traumatic story behind why you hold such strong emotions for the vegetable, Lorelai asked.

- My mom tried feeding me broccoli when I was four, Luke shrugged. - I just didn't like it. I tried it again when I got older and I didn't like it then either.

- So, when you say you hate broccoli, Lorelai commented. - You _really_ hate broccoli. This must be like Luke Danes' big, dark secret.

- Like whether or not I like a stupid vegetable or not means anything, Luke said, rolling his eyes.

- Oh, but it does, Luke. Before this very moment I was under the impression that Luke Danes would eat anything, as long as it was healthy. Who knew it actually was a matter of taste? I feel enlightened.

- Is there any chance you'll tire of mocking me about this, Luke asked.

- Not very likely, Lorelai chuckled.

- Thought so, Luke commented. - So, why did your mom do it? I mean, she put you through all this, just so she could fire you?

- That's what I wanted to know, Lorelai replied. - And first she was being vague, something that's really not her style at all. So I put some pressure on her and she cracked. My _mother_ cracked. And with 'cracked', I mean she was really down. I don't think I've seen that kind of look on my mother's face, ever. At least not like this, because she's an expert at manipulating you into feeling sorry for her before she deliver's that final blow that you know is coming, but still always manages to surprise you. But this, this was genuine.

- So, what made her call it off, Luke asked.

- Dad's new business partner decided to take the clients to Atlantic City instead of letting my mother throw her party. Normally, this wouldn't be something Emily would accept, especially not with how she simply can't stand Jason as it is, but I think some of the things he said about her kind of party really hurt her feelings. So I decided to take matters into my own hands and after Jason didn't answer any of my phone calls, I went over to his office to tell him to let mom have her party and instead of saying yes, he just asked me out.

- Your _father_'s business partner asked you out?

- He even had the nerve to call me by my stupid nickname from camp, Lorelai said, annoyed. - Okay, so I called him by _his_ nickname, first, but I was angry.

- Okay, Luke said. - Now, I'm confused. Your father's business partner's...

- ...my age, Lorelai supplied. - Yes. Or almost my age, he's two years older than me.

Luke was now what seemed to be halfway through putting together the crib the way it was supposed to be. It amazed her how easy he made it look, when she knew from experience that it wasn't. Luke turned around for some reason, probably wondering why she'd stopped talking.

- What, he asked.

- Nothing, she replied. - You just make it look so easy and yet I tried over and over again and it kept falling apart. No matter how many times I read the instructions, I just couldn't get it right.

- The instructions are impossible, Luke shrugged. - But the pieces are kind of self explanatory.

- For you, maybe, Lorelai remarked.

- Why are you putting the crib up, already, he asked. - Isn't it a bit too big for a newborn? Don't they require a bassinet or something like that?

Lorelai shrugged, not really having a sane answer for it.

- I just want to be prepared, she shrugged.

- A little over a week ago you didn't have anything, Luke pointed out. - What changed?

- Okay, Lorelai sighed. - This is a little embarrassing, but I'm gonna tell you anyway. Last Wednesday I woke up with Braxton Hicks contractions. And you know how disorianted you can be when you're waking up, so as I was waking up, I mistook them for the real deal and I was _this_ close to calling the hospital before realizing what they were.

- I thought Braxton Hicks weren't really that painful, Luke commented.

Although she was a bit surprised Luke had even heard of them, despite having a sister who has kid, Lorelai didn't comment on it.

- Compared to real labor, she told him. - They're a peach. I'd rate them as slightly bad menstrual cramps at worst, but you don't really think rationally when you just wake up. Not to mention the way the hormones are playing everything up.

Seeing Luke only slightly visibly squirm, Lorelai decided not to go into any further detail.

- So even though it was clearly a false alarm, those moments I mistook it for the real deal, I kept thinking about all the preparations I hadn't done yet. Kinda like how ones life is supposed to flash in front of your eyes when you have a near death experience. But instead of that I had a near labor experience. And now I just want to have everything prepared.

Luke nodded and returned to working on the crib. With every piece he added to it, it more and more started to remind her of the one she had put Rory down in every single night after her baby girl had grown out of her bassinet. She felt a kick to her bladder, as though the baby wanted to remind her of his or her presence. As the movement gave her the need to pee, she got up, getting Luke's attention as he turned around.

- Where are you going, he asked.

- The baby's decided to use my bladder as a squeaky toy, Lorelai explained. - So I'm just gonna go to the bathroom.

As anyone else who'd been sitting down for a while, not realizing how much they needed to pee, Lorelai stood still, trying to get control over the situation. Then she slowly made her way to the door.

- Nice pants, Luke remarked behind her.

Lorelai chuckled, not to mention blushed slightly, as she remembered exactly what pair of pants she was wearing.

- Yeah, she replied, not turning around. - Mom thought a bra with the word _'tasty'_ on it would go well with them.

TBC


	43. Doctors note excuse

AN: Sob, not a single person commented on my my phrase-invention: "near labor experience"... and here I thought I was being _soooo_ brilliant... lol. Oh well, life goes on, I guess... As always a great shoutout to Steph for her betaing. Ok, the chapter is short, but the next one's longer (yup, it's already written)

**gilmorian** - Don't worry, I push myself a lot more than any of my readers does. I think it has to be almost 5 years since the last time I wrote this frequently for such a long period of time. As my writing has grown more complex, it's become harder to keep it as frequent, but since I've managed doing that the last six months, I have a feeling I'll manage to keep it up for a good while longer. Lorelai only started dating Jason in the show as a way to get back at her mother. Unlike in this story, she wasn't pregnant or aware of her feelings for Luke. I can safely say without feeling that I'm revealling anything that although Jason will be present in the storyline if not in person, then in mentionings as Richard's business partner, the Digger fans can only hope for a couple of casual encounters, if any. DR's position, unlike mine, is that he has a difficult place to start, but it's up to him what obstacles there's to come (while I'm stuck to handling the obstacles already created by ASP). As I'm unsure on DR's plans for LL timewise, I can't say if my version of season 7 (should I write one) would take less, longer or just as much time to reunite LL than he will, but I think I can safely say that I'd make a much more believable story arch than the current season 7s, without venturing too far into the areas of LC.

**Lorelai Elizabeth Halliwell** - No, I've never read that fic, where's it archived?

**flcrkr** - Yup, instructions are impossible, especially Ikea ones. I find it funny how those furniture, if we're the believe certain american shows, are considered high quality stuff. While for us, here, it's considered to be cheap and just alright kinda furniture. I can name several of the things I've bought from the place that's fallen apart within a couple of months, just as I expected them to... lol. Anyways, back on track. What I meant to say is that esp instructions on Ikea furniture is pretty much impossible to follow... lol, you stand over the drawings with a large question mark above your head.

**delen2000** - Glad to hear that you have faith in me :) And thanks for yet another confirmation and support in the third trimester morning sicness... lol

**cywen69** - I don't think you should worry too much about it.

* * *

There was something about the way Lorelai was glowing when she entered the diner that caught his attention. True, all pregnant women had that mother-to-be glow to them and he'd seen that glow on Lorelai ever since her return from Europe. But today was simply different, because in addition to glowing, Lorelai was smiling. And it wasn't that fake, plastered on smile he'd seen more than once since her return that she used to convince people that she was handling everything with ease, nor was it the _'thank God this day is over'_-smile she had whenever she'd been through a particularly exhausting day.

Today her smile was one of a little girl on Christmas morning who'd just unwrapped the doll she wanted, but didn't think she'd get. Those kind of smiles had been far and between these last couple of months, which wasn't really that strange. Between sending her so far only daughter away for college, working what it appeared to be night and day to get her dream of owning her own Inn realized, in addition to preparing for single motherhood for the second time in her life, there was no wonder those smiles had become somewhat of a rarity. One could fall apart for less, yet Lorelai seemed to keep going. Luke admired her for that persistence, but at the same time he worried about what the stress had to be doing to her. So to see her this calm and this content was nothing but a big relief for him.

Lorelai took a seat up at the counter. Knowing what she was gonna ask before she opened her mouth and not wanting to ruin her good mood, Luke resisted the urge to remind her how bad coffee was for her and instead just filled up a cup for her. Half and half, of course, as he wasn't crazy. Then he gave the coffee an extra dash of caffeinated coffee to make it the perfect sixty-forty blend he'd come to serve her now-a-days. Lorelai seemed to have decided to cut him some slack in return as she made not even one wise-crack about him not giving her a single lecture.

- Not quite as good as regular, she said, sipping her coffee. - But doable.

- How did the doctor's appointment go, Luke asked, fetching his pad to write down her order.

- You remembered, Lorelai said, surprisingly in a surprised tone.

- You told me about it just three days ago, Luke pointed out. - Of course I remember.

- Well, yeah, but you don't remember _everything_ I tell you, do you?

- I don't always remember every single joke or reference you come up with, Luke replied. - But important things I remember. So, how did it go? From your smile I take it went well?

- Very well, Lorelai nodded. - We did a sonogram and he told me that the baby seemed to be growing just fine. I have a picture if you wanna see.

Before he had the chance to say anything, Lorelai had fished out a black and white picture from her wallet and handed it to him. Staring at it he instinctively squinted his eyes to see if he could make out the baby from the picture, but he simply couldn't. It was all a clutter of these grainy shades of grey mass on top of a black background. Since he didn't have kids of his own and Liz had already skipped town when she was having Jess, he'd never before seen a sonogram up close and had never had any reason to _try_ and see the baby on it.

- It looks different on screen, Lorelai told him, obviously seeing his struggle. - It's a lot easier to make out when you see the movement.

She gesticulated for him to turn the picture so they both could see it and proceeded to point things out to him as she narrated.

- Okay, so, this area here's the head. The baby's turned away at the moment, so you can't see the face, but here's the left ear. Here's one of the arms and if you look really close you can see the other hand sticking out from behind it there, Lorelai said pointing. - There's the butt and the feet and this bit here's part of the umbilical cord.

Luke nodded to the information. He did now, with some focus manage to make out what part of the picture was the baby and what was not, but he couldn't see the details she told him about. At least not all of them. He could guess where the ear was supposed to be and tell where the arms and legs were, but not that they were in fact arms and legs.

- So, he said you're both well, Luke assumed.

- He said the baby was doing well, but he wasn't too happy with me, Lorelai shrugged.

- And yet you're here, drinking coffee, Luke remarked.

He shook his head in disbelief. She wasn't even going to listen to her doctor on the subject of caffeine and pregnancy?

- I never said it was diet-related, Lorelai pointed out. - Although he _did_ like that I've cut back on the amount of caffeine. You, my friend, earned yourself a big gold star in his book for that. But he didn't like all the stress I've put myself through and he's given me clear orders to stay away from anything stressful and to sit down with my feet up as often as I can.

Luke gave her a look as she was currently sitting on a bar stool instead of at a table where she could follow her doctor's recommendations and put her feet up. Lorelai seemed to be catching on.

- I will in a minute, she said. - So this means I have to take it easier on the Inn, trust Tom and his guys to be doing the right thing.

- He's a good contractor, Luke pointed out. - He knows what he's doing.

- I know, Lorelai nodded. - And I'm gonna let him at it and I'm gonna be calling him for updates more, instead of making inspections. I'll bet you that Tom will be happy to hear that. I'm gonna sit down and relax more. But the best thing is that I'm gonna stay away from Friday night dinners. If there's one thing that stresses me out more than the Inn, or even Taylor, it's Emily Gilmore.

Lorelai made a sudden pause as though she was coming to a realization and then burst into laughter.

- I just realized, she said in between waves of laughter. - I've just gotten the one thing I've been dreaming about for years; a doctor's note to get out of dinner with my parents.

The laughter seemed to be getting even more out of control.

- I would've gotten pregnant a lot sooner if I'd known that was all it'd take to get out of FNDs.

- FNDs, Luke asked.

- Friday Night Dinners, Lorelai explained. - All these years of having my mother criticize my every decision, my every move every single week and I could've escaped it all so easily.

- But then you'd have a posse of critters to raise, Luke pointed out.

- I'd take the screaming infants before Emily Gilmore any day.

- So come Friday, you'll tell your parents this is the last they'll see of you until the baby's born, Luke asked.

- Oh _no_, Lorelai said, shaking her head. - I'm not about to resist doctor's orders. No, I am staying at home for the evening with my feet up, relaxing with a good movie.

- And a pile of junk food right beside you, I bet, Luke replied, dryly.

- The doctor said relax, Lorelai shrugged. - So I am relaxing.

- He didn't tell you to eat a bunch of crap.

- He didn't tell me _not_ to, either, Lorelai grinned. - He only commented on my caffeine intake.

Luke sighed.

- It's implied, he said.

- Not to me, Lorelai shrugged.

- You only follow doctor's orders when it suits you, don't you, Luke asked, gesturing to her choice of seating.

- He said to sit down and put my feet up whenever I can, Lorelai pointed out. - I can't sit down at one of the tables and talk to you at the same time.

- Why not, he asked. - You do it any other time.

- Do you _really_ want me to shout everything across the diner, she challenged.

- I could come over, he suggested.

- No, Lorelai said, shaking her head. - You have to stay here and take the orders, make the food, pour the coffee, wipe the counter whenever you're uncomfortable... _yes_, I know that's why you do it.

- I work with food, remember? It's good hygiene to wipe of the counter every so often, Luke countered.

- Yes, because the air here's so contaminated, Lorelai deadpanned. - Seriously. I've seen you wipe the counter again and again when no one's been anywhere near it.

- So, what are you ordering, Luke asked, desperate to change the subject.

He'd known Lorelai most likely had figured out that he often used wiping the counter as a reason to avert eye contact, as a way to take his focus away from things that made him feel uncomfortable or to simply look busy when he wasn't in a particular mood to chat, but that didn't mean he liked to have her point it out.

- A Ceasar Salad, _don't mock_, she warned. - Cravings. Plus a cheeseburger with the works.

- Sit down, he ordered, pointing to one of the tables by the window. - Put your feet up. It'll take ten minutes.

- That's what they all say, she joked.

- Dirty, he said, rolling his eyes.

Seeing that her coffee cup was nearing empty he deliberately left for the kitchen at once, hoping it would distract her from asking for a refill. He started preparing the salad first, intending to bring that out before bringing the burger. As he reached for the eggs, he made sure to get a view out towards the counter to see if she was still sitting there. He was pleased to see that she'd listened and was currently seated at the table he'd pointed out, her feet resting on the chair next to her. At least _sometimes_ she listened.

As he continued preparing the salad, the image of Lorelai spending the one day a week he could be sure she had a solid healthy meal eating nothing but junk wouldn't leave him. He hated what the Friday night dinners did to her, but at least it was a guarantee for him that Lorelai wouldn't get away with leaving just the salad on her plate or any other nonsense she tried whenever she was at the diner and with her being pregnant it was even more important that she ate right.

When he took the salad out to her, he deliberately ignored her very obvious signs for him to bring the coffee pots with him, such as holding her coffee cup over her head while pretending to be a thirsting person in the middle of the desert.

- Burger will be a couple of minutes, he told her as he placed the plate in front of her.

He turned to leave for the kitchen, as he still had a cheeseburger to make, and by the looks of it a couple of other orders to take, but then he turned back to Lorelai.

- Hey, listen, he said. - I can't seem to shake the image of you at your house, eating nothing but junk on the one night a week you've usually gotten a healthy meal. I know going over to your parents is out of the question, especially with your doctor's advising you not to, so I was thinking... this Friday, maybe I could come over and make you something a little more healthier than your usual crap.

Lorelai seemed to be taken aback by the sudden offer and he couldn't blame her. In their very long friendship, he had yet to come over to make her dinner. True, he had on several occasions brought food into the house. Once, when Rory had the chicken pox for a week, he'd come by bringing her mashed potatoes. But first of all that was for Rory and second of all, he'd still made it at the diner and brought it over during the lull. After having focused on her salad for what seemed to be eternity, Lorelai finally looked up.

- That sounds good, she replied.

- Okay, he nodded. - So, seven o'clock?

- Seven, she agreed.

TBC


	44. Alternative Friday Night Dinner

AN: Ok, first of all, great thanks to Steph, not just for the betaing, but also for her recipy-hunt on my behalf while I was writing :P 

**cywen69** - I find it weird that you think of a Luke and Lorelai interaction as a filler. Cause then about 70-80 of the show would be viewed as a filler. Especially since it involves both an ultrasound picture and Luke suggesting he makes her dinner. Well, personally I've only seen my sister's baby on ultrasound pictures. Hers aren't majorly clear, but they're not as blurry as I described here. I did a search on ultrasound pictures so that I could compare and contrast and most of the ones I found were impossible to make out the baby from despite being from the 8th month, hence I went with the blurry. You forget that Lorelai's a very independant woman and she's also putting in a lot of money into the Dragonfly, so spending heaps of money to get clear ultrasound pictures when she can get to know everything she needs for less money, wouldn't really be something she'd do. And unless it was a crisis, she wouldn't accept any financial support from her parents, as we've seen again and again on the show. 

**Glgrl2092** - Lorelai accidentally let her feelings for Luke slip to Sookie, but Rory's the only other person who knows about that night. 

**Caffeination** - lol, okay, so someone else thought it up before me... lol, but I have a feeling that'll always be the case. Somewhere someone else will always have come up with the same ideas you have, or at least simillar ones. I dunno if it'll venture into season 7 timeline, but I can assure you that if it does, it will be _nothing_ like the current season 7.

* * *

Lorelai didn't know what to wear. It was closing in on six thirty and she was still sitting on the edge of her bed. Having come out of the shower almost an hour ago, she was still only wearing the bathrobe that she, two years ago, had nicked from the spa she attended with her mother as an attempt at taking a first step towards making a mother-daughter bond. The robe, that she since then secretly favored, not just because with it she'd managed to get her mother to do something illegal, but also because Emily had been right when she'd said it was the most comfortable robe she'd ever worn. _Note to self, find out who's the supplier when ordering guest robes for the Dragonfly._ It used to feel big and comfy, but now, in her eighth month, it was barely covering her essentials. 

She felt silly over the fact that she'd been sitting on the bed, _doctor's orders_, for an hour, now, and still was nowhere near figuring out what to wear tonight, as if she was some teenage girl going on her first date. This wasn't her first clothing crisis, and sure as hell wasn't going to be her last. Not by a long shot. But this was the first crisis she had since Rory had been born, where she couldn't resort to asking her daughter for help. First of all, Rory was probably already at the Gilmore mansion, having drinks with Richard and Emily and being the poor liar that she was, there was no scenario where Lorelai could call Rory where Emily wouldn't know. But even if she'd managed to get a hold of her kid prior to drinks, she couldn't, due to the fact that Rory didn't even know Luke was coming over. 

Surprising herself, Lorelai had actually called and informed her parents on her having to miss out on the next couple of Friday Night Dinners, before she talked to Rory about it. Emily had been far from pleased and was close to demanding to see that Doctor's note of Lorelai's in person. After a couple of reasoning words from Richard on Lorelai's behalf, which had come as somewhat of a surprise, due to many unpleasant confrontations with her father on the subject of family obligations in the past, as well as Lorelai giving her mother the name and number of her doctor to check for herself, Emily had reluctantly accepted the excuse. 

Then when she'd called to inform Rory about the situation, Lorelai had conveniently managed to keep any mention of Luke out of the conversation. It wasn't as if she wanted to keep it from her daughter, but the more she'd thought about it, the more she wanted to keep the dinner on the down-low. Not because she believed it to be the beginning of something, but because she didn't want Rory to. Luke had been fairly casual when he'd suggested making her dinner. It wouldn't be the first thing he did for her because of their friendship. So Lorelai was afraid that if she started talking to Rory about it, she would believe it to be bigger than it was and with her hormones already throwing her off balance, any disappointment would just be too much right now to take. 

But even with the attempted casual view on the night before her, Lorelai still found herself at a loss on what to wear. She'd opened up the closet, which she a few weeks prior, with the help from her lovely daughter, had rearranged so that any outfit that hadn't fitted her since before Europe no longer was in sight. It wasn't because she was hysterical about her weight gain and wanted to remove any reminder on how fat she'd become. 

Even as a teen, Lorelai hadn't really been bothered by the aspect on weight gain during pregnancy. At least not as much as morning sickness, back aches, heart burns, etc. True, being fat wasn't exactly her favorite thing. _Not fat_, her inner voice reminded her. _Just pregnant_. Of course, _'pregnant'_, in regards to appearance was just a polite way of saying _'fat with a reason'_. She'd even joined a gym after having Rory, intending to lose the pregnancy weight as quickly as she could. Of course, Lorelai had never been one for doing anything athletic, plus the image she had of her standing amongst people in perfect shape was not a tempting one, so the only thing she got from that membership was another plastic card to carry in her wallet. 

The real reason in moving the clothes that wouldn't fit her until she had her old figure back, was to save both time and grief in the decision making progress. She knew what fitted her now and what didn't, so she didn't waste a lot of time, trying on clothes that in one way or another no longer would fit her. With her clock now showing six forty-five and she wasn't about to greet Luke in a bathrobe that didn't really cover anything anymore, she finally decided on a pair of plain, black pants in a stretchy fabric and a black, viscose top with short sleeves and a high cut in the waist. It was one of the three only non-maternity-tops she owned that still fitted her. Not only that, but it also had a way of flattering her appearance more and more as her stomach grew. 

She surprised herself by being downstairs, dressed and ready by the time the clock struck seven. Or it would've done, if she'd owned such a clock. But as incredible her being ready on time was, especially considering her current condition, she was more surprised by how Luke still hadn't shown up. In all the years they'd been friends she'd always known him to be freakishly on time to everything. Knowing he probably had a good reason, Lorelai decided against looking out the window for him and took a seat on the couch, legs up, grabbing the remote. Despite there not being anything remotely good or bad to watch, it took Luke knocking for the third time for her to even hear it. Muting the TV instead of turning it off, she got to her feet, just in time to hear the fourth knock. 

As she opened the door it'd almost be impossible to spot who was behind the Doose's shopping bag, hadn't it been for her seeing the long green jacket that Luke always wore during late fall and winter. Knowing he wouldn't even let her carry the bag for a single second, she just stepped aside to let him in. He placed the bag on the table and proceeded to take his jacket off. Underneath Luke was wearing his usual blue flannel and the matching blue baseball cap he'd always worn since she'd given it to him almost three years ago. 

- Sorry I'm late, he said, as he hung his jacket up, still not having looked over in her direction even once. - The queue at Doose's was unbelievable. For some reason every other stinkin' person in this town decided to do _their_ shopping at the same time as me. 

Turning to get the bag of groceries to carry them to the kitchen, he halted slightly as he spotted her. 

- You look nice, he noted, clearly surprised by her choice of attire. 

- Oh, well, thanks, she shrugged, feeling as she may have overdressed, despite the simplicity of the ensemble. - When you're used to having to dress up for dinner every Friday for three years, it's hard to break the habit, I guess. I'm sorry. 

- Don't be, he assured her. - You look nice. 

- So do you, she replied. 

- I wear this every day, Luke pointed out. 

- And have I ever said that's not nice? 

- I wore this to work, _today_, Luke continued. 

He paused and smelled his shirt. 

- I smell like burgers and coffee, he declared. 

- And you're wondering why I find that appealing, Lorelai grinned, pretending to take a whiff. - Okay, that settles it. I'm hungry. What are you making me? 

Luke chuckled and looked over her shoulder for a second, probably seeing the TV still being on. 

- Go back to the living room and you'll find out soon enough, he told her. 

- You're not even telling me, she stated more than asked. 

- Nope, he said, picking up the bag of groceries and making his way to the kitchen. 

- How can I even be sure I'll like it, she yelled after him. 

- _You'll like it_, came his reply. 

The good Lorelai, the sensible Lorelai, the _lazy_ Lorelai, would've returned to the couch the minute Luke vanished into the kitchen. True, she wasn't one for following orders, but she had a tendency to do it whenever it suited her own wishes. She never had been one for cooking. 

Growing up, her every meal save a couple of sandwiches here and there, had all been prepared by a cook. As her job at the Inn had come with food as well as shelter in exchange for reduced pay and Lorelai kept envisioning her food accidentally poisoning her kid, she had left the cooking to the kitchen staff. By the time they had moved out of the shed, Lorelai got promoted to Jr. Executive Manager and Rory got more busy with school, the idea of first spending insane amounts of time learning to cook, then spending the little time a day she had with her kid striving over the stove, was less than appealing. Plus, by then, Luke's had opened and the idea of Lorelai cooking became even more ridiculous. 

So, no, Lorelai had never been one for cooking. And the couch, despite her knowing better, was looking mighty comfy at this point, the weight of her stomach taking its toll on her back and ankles. But with her curiosity getting the better of her, she went in the direction of the kitchen instead of the couch, as Luke had asked her to. Any hope to accidentally spot any ingredients to give away what he was preparing her was shot down as the Doose's bag, which in any other cooking situation would have been opened by now and the ingredients spread out on the counter, some possibly stowed away in the fridge for the time being, had only been put on top of the counter next to the stove, its content still very much a mystery, as if Luke was anticipating her following him. 

- What point of _'go back to the living room'_ didn't you understand, Luke asked, bending down as he retrieved a frying pan from one of the lower cupboards next to the stove. 

Lorelai didn't even know she had a frying pan there and couldn't help but wonder where it had come from. Luke wasn't the first one to cook for her, this much was true. But Sookie always brought her own pans, and somehow, despite her somewhat vague and fleeting memory, she always managed to leave with all of them. Back when she'd been engaged to Max, he'd made her and Rory a couple of meals and he too had been forced to bring his own pans, due to Lorelai's _'lack of proper kitchen supplies'_ as Max had called it. As the engagement would be leading to his moving in, instead of bringing them back with him, he'd just washed and stowed the pans away. With neither of them remembering this around the time of the break-up, the pans had just remained there, collecting dust. Luke seemed to think so too, as he went over to the sink to wash them. 

- How did you know I was here, Lorelai asked, making a mental note, should she ever run into Mr Medina again, to make sure she gave back those pans of his. 

- I could hear you breathing, Luke told her, truthfully. - And the floorboards over by the door creak. 

Laughing, slightly, Lorelai suddenly realized that the shopping bag that contained the mystery had been left unguarded for the time being. 

- Don't even think about it, Luke warned her, before she had taken more than one step towards the bag. 

- Come on, Luke, she whined. - I have to know if anything in there's gonna make me spend an hour with my head down the toilet. 

- There's no broccoli in there, Luke replied. - That's all you need to know. 

- There's more than broccoli that this kid doesn't like, she pointed out. 

She'd almost said the words _'your kid'_, but had caught herself just in time. 

- Everything in that bag are things I've seen you eat without a problem, Luke assured her. - Go back to the living room. 

- But it's boring, she complained. 

- You've got the TV on, Luke pointed out. 

- There's nothing good on. 

- Then find something to mock, he suggested. 

- There's nothing bad on. 

Luke turned around to give her a look. 

- If this was an ordinary Friday Night Dinner, would you be sitting in the kitchen, he asked her. 

- No, I'd be having drinks with my mother, Lorelai replied with a pained expression as the numerous conversations taking place during those drinks, none of them enjoyable, flashed in front of her eyes. 

- Well, tonight the TV's your _'drinks'_, Luke told her. 

- Can I have coffee, Lorelai asked him. 

- Do you usually have coffee during drinks, he asked back. 

- Yes? 

- Go, sit down, watch TV and I'll tell you when dinner's ready, he ordered. 

Lorelai motioned to leave the room, but stopped before she completely left the room. 

- You know, she said, turning to meet his eyes. - The help doesn't usually join us when we have dinner. So are you going to keep up this whole charade by eating in the kitchen or can I expect getting some company? 

- Just go, he chuckled. 

Giving in, she returned to the couch and resumed her channel surfing. Finally her choice landed on watching an old episode of Full House. _Oh, the Olsen twins in their golden age_, she mused. Apparently it was a _feel good_ weekend or something to that effect as it was followed by an episode of the Brady Bunch. Before she found out what followed that, Luke came carrying two plates. 

- There you go, he said, placing one of them in front of her. - Lemon Basil Chicken with a side of Garden Salad. 

The dish looked very delicious and smelled strongly of lemon, only faintly of garlic for some reason. The salad was simple. Just tomatoes, lettuce and carrots. Instead of the usual cheese, Luke had added what seemed to be a light cheese-cream sauce that, just like in a restaurant, only covered half the chicken and parts of the salad. Next to the dry part of the salad there was a dash of sour cream. She knew it was guaranteed healthy and probably low-fat, but with how her stomach was rumbling, she found herself not caring. 

- There's more in the kitchen in case you're really hungry, he assured her. 

- It looks really great, she told him. 

He didn't answer. Instead he placed his own plate in front of him and sat down. Ignoring her mother's voice in her head regarding manners and waiting until everyone was properly seated and so on, she took her first bite of the meal. It tasted even better than it smelled. She swallowed a couple of more bites before she again turned to Luke. 

- I had no idea you knew how to cook this fancy, she remarked. - It's delicious. 

- What, you assumed just because I run a diner, that's all I ever cook, he asked. 

- No, she shook her head. - Well, kinda. I mean, why aren't things like this on the menu? 

- Because Ceasar has problems with just making a proper tuna melt, Luke replied, dryly. 

- You could cook it, Lorelai suggested, in between new bites. 

- It's not diner food, besides, I like not being stuck in the kitchen the whole day when I have errands to run. 

- You could put it on a special dinner menu, Lorelai shrugged. 

Luke chuckled and shook his head. 

- So, where did you learn to make things like this, she asked. 

- I always loved cooking, even before dad got sick, Luke shrugged. - Then when he started getting worse, his doctor put him on various diets. 

He chuckled. 

- Dad hated the diets. I remember he used to beg me for a burger, just some red meat to get him through the night, Luke continued. - So I started experimenting. I found some low-fat recipes and substituted some of the ingredients to get more flavor. Even after he was admitted to the hospital, I continued making him dinner and sneaking it in. Dad hated hospital food with a passion. 

Luke always had this special, dreamy look, whenever he talked about his father. And every time Lorelai listened to him talking about William Danes, it was like she was dragged into three different directions all at the same time. The first was the part of her that could almost channel the emotions of that incredible father-son bond. The second was the part of her she wasn't proud of, the jealous part, the one that envied how close Luke had been to his parents, when she as a kid, always enjoyed most the times her parents left for holidays, leaving her at home. The third was the guilt she felt for her jealousy, mixed with the sadness on how Luke, who loved his parents more than anything had lost them far too soon. 

- So, you used to make this for your dad, she asked. 

- If you nix the sauce and switch the sour cream to low-fat, then yes, Luke nodded. - It was his favorite. 

- So, this is why you didn't want to tell me? 

- I know it's stupid, Luke said. - But I made this dish so many times while he was in the hospital, that it just feels weird to have anyone in the kitchen when I make it. 

- No, Lorelai told him, shaking her head. - It's not stupid. 

As if the baby wanted to give its five cents Lorelai felt a sudden kick. She laughed at the timing. 

- I think the baby wants me to tell you the food was great as well, she chuckled. 

Luke raised his brows in confusion. 

- It's kicking, she elaborated. - And for once this week, it's not directed towards my bladder. 

The baby delivered a second strong kick and she instinctively grabbed Luke's hand, placing it over the very spot the last two kicks had been delivered. It was as though both of them stopped breathing while they waited for another kick to happen. And when a third kick was felt by both of them, they both breathed out at the same time. Lorelai never tired of feeling her baby kick, no matter how often it happed. Not back when she was having Rory and not now. 

Letting go of his hand, Lorelai was glad she'd at least made sure Luke got to feel his baby kick. She knew that she should tell him, but a selfish part of her didn't want to ruin the moment by bringing on the argument she knew her telling him would lead to. _Another day_, she promised herself. As the silence turned uncomfortable, Luke got up and collected the now empty plates. 

- I'm just gonna take care of these and I'll be right back, he muttered. 

- No, Lorelai objected. - You made dinner, so I'll do the dishes. 

- No, Luke dismissed. - Just relax and I'll get them done. 

- But I want to, Lorelai insisted. 

- You shouldn't be on your feet. 

- Okay, you know, there's pregnant and then there's deathly ill. 

- The doctor's orders.., Luke reminded her. 

- ...is for me to relax, Lorelai finished. - Washing dishes relaxes me. 

She could see that he didn't want to give up, but that she had managed to get the upper hand on him. 

- Fine, he finally said. - But I'm drying. 

- Term's accepted, she grinned. 

She wasn't about to tell him that the drying was the least fun part for her. Luke still insisted on carrying the plates to the kitchen for her, which she let him do. Him being the neat freak he was, he'd already soaked the bowls and pans and even scrubbed the small one, which she assumed was the one he made the sauce in. Grabbing a sponge, she filled the sink with hot water and soap and got started. 

- Why, Luke finally asked, as he dried off the plate she handed him. 

- Why what? 

- You hate cleaning and everything that reminds you of cleaning, he pointed out. - So why do you love washing dishes? 

- Because it was the one thing I never did as a maid? 

Luke laughed at the joke. 

- I don't know, she told him truthfully. - I guess, every time I felt angry or frustrated I just did it in a way to keep my hands occupied. You know that destructive feeling you get when you're really angry where you just want to smash everything around you? 

Luke nodded. 

- Doing the dishes instead helped me hold that feeling in check, she continued. - Plus there was the added bonus that mom never came into the kitchen. She always used the maid as a go-between. So I got to be on my own. Even after I ran away, I kept using it as a way to handle stressful situations. Now I just like it because it's relaxing. 

He remained silent while drying off the last couple of plates. 

- Is there a similar story behind your love for painting, he finally asked. 

Lorelai laughed, remembering the time where she had told Luke exactly how much she loved painting, which was the first time he'd gotten to know about her love for washing dishes as well. 

- No, she said, shaking her head. - I just love the idea of smudging paint on a wall. Plus there's this whole empowering feeling when you're holding a wet paintbrush near other people. 

- You're nuts, Luke chuckled. 

TBC 


	45. The Festival of Living Pictures

AN: LOL, okay, for all the people begging for the recipe... since I apparently made it sound so delicious. Since the archive hates links, here's what you can do, for the chicken, well just go to Southernfood About dot com and search for the dish's name there. As for the salad, well I already listed the ingredients, so use your imagination... lol For anyone here who's interessted in knowing, I've made two new LL vids called "Kiss from a Rose" and "Love is a beautiful thing", they can be found at Dream Universe (link is in my profile. Second vid is uploaded, but not yet added to the vid section).

**scubaluver** - The last chapter was _almost_ 100 my own?

**Corinna** - Now here's someone who deserves a paragraph... lol. Don't worry about spelling mistakes. We who aren't native English have tendensies to have them. From what I see, your English is great for a German. Long story short on my experience with Germans and English. I was in Germany 4 years ago and the English I heard was... um... well... you know. On to the shoutout: I'm glad to hear I turned one more person around to my dialogue format :P I'm glad to hear that I have you with me. Since this is my first GG story my readers just have to take that leap of faith in that I know what I'm doing, since unless they're into my other fandoms, they don't have anything to hold onto in terms of reassurance, other than my word and I know that's getting a bit worn... lol. I thank you for the compliment on my writing. I do try to stick as much as I can to my own dialogue and I try to do my best to avoid actual scenes unless there's a reason I _have_ to. I'm really glad you liked my alternative FND and I wish I could've given you more of Luke's reaction to the baby kicking, but you have to remember two things: 1) It was written from Lorelai's POV, so I couldn't give you any of his thoughts or emotions. 2) Luke's a hold it in kinda guy, so given his situation I do think him holding his breath is the biggest physical reaction he would've given at that moment.

**cywen** - Lorelai's picture was a black'n white standard sonogram picture, not anything fancy, which is why it was grainy. Lorelai could've kept her doctor from when she was a kid or she could've due to money, distance or some other reason have changed doctor some time in the time between she had Rory and now. I'm just saying it's possible and it's the path I chose to take with her. Anyways, I don't want to argue about it. I made choices concerning the details and I stand by them. We must like the show for a different reason, because I've always managed to enjoy the scenes, regardless if they happen to move the plot or not, so I guess I'm kind of a filler kinda girl. And I'm also someone who loves lengthy stories more than short ones. A story for me can have hundreds of pages and still feel too short when it ends. A story can also be two-three pages long and feel like it's never gonna end. I'm sorry if you're getting bored. Don't worry, I'm not offended. It takes a lot more to to make me angry or sad. I want the truth and I appreciate getting the truth. However while readers may manage to influence the little things I do, the storyline will remain as it was planned. I hope to see you follow the journey, but I understand if you end up leaving it. I write the story for me first, my readers second, just as any other fanfic writer should be doing.

**Asta-Gilmore** - Thank you for the compliment. And no, Lorelai hasn't been in contact with Chris since Gigi was born (and to my knowledge, neither has Rory, so can we all say it in unison once and for all: What a deadbeat!)

* * *

- Hey Luke, Lorelai called out, pointing to the dish he had just placed in front of her. - What's this green goo?

- It's spinach, Luke informed her.

- Okay, Lorelai said, raising her brows. - Now that we've established the name of said goo, what's it doing on my plate?

- You ordered it, Luke reminded her.

- I did, she asked, confused.

As Luke groaned and picked the plate back up, it all came back to her.

- Oh, she cringed. - That's right I did. I was craving it.

She smiled apologetically.

- Let me guess, Luke replied. - You're not anymore.

Lorelai shook her head.

- I'm really sorry, she told him in full honesty. - There's no controlling it. One minute I can see what I want so very clearly. And the next minute, it's completely erased from my mind. I'm _not_ doing it on purpose, I swear.

Luke didn't seem to believe it, but he went with the flow.

- What do you want, now, he asked, getting his pad back out.

- Hmm, she said, ransacking her mind. - Olives... no, wait... pickles dipped in sour cream... no...

- You know what, Luke said, clearly disgusted with her suggestions. - I'm bringing you a regular burger and a salad. If your cravings go towards the meat, you'll eat the burger, if it's vegetables, you'll eat the salad. If you can't make up your mind you eat a bit of both.

- That's not how cravings work, Lorelai called after him.

- Well, that's how I'm handling them, he called back, heading towards the kitchen.

Normally she would've argued about it some more, but as the spinach was the third craving gone wrong this week, she couldn't really blame him. Also, Luke never liked it when she took up a large table on her own, but he had yet to complain about it. Maybe he knew she was waiting for Rory or maybe it was just one of those _'get out of jail free'_-cards she'd been getting ever since her doctor had given her strict orders to avoid stress as much as possible. She was situated in the middle of the diner, sitting at one of the four chairs next to the table, her feet resting at the one next to it.

As she was waiting for Luke to bring her her meal, the bell above the diner rang and Lorelai turned to see, not only Rory, but Jess as well. Rory immediately spotted her and sat down in one of the empty chairs across the table. Jess seemed to be more reluctant to follow, but a couple of moments later he took the seat right next to her.

- Hi, Lorelai said politely to him.

With the exception of that one time outside the diner when her and Rory had just got back from Europe, her and Jess hadn't spoken since that talk of theirs at the bus stop. They'd come to a silent agreement to tolerate each other and as long as he made Rory happy.

- Hey, he politely replied.

- How's school, she asked.

- It's okay, Jess shrugged.

- And the store's going well?

She felt that she at least had to try to have a conversation with him.

- Yup, he replied.

With that the conversation faded to a crashing halt. After two minutes, Jess got up.

- Hey, you know, he told Rory. - I'm gonna go. I'll meet up with you later.

- Okay, Rory nodded. - Remember, we promised to bring pizza.

- I'm on it, he assured her, giving her a quick kiss before leaving the diner.

- I swear, Lorelai promised as the door closed behind him. - I was not pushing for him to leave.

- I know, Rory assured her.

- So, Lorelai sighed.

- So, Rory mimicked.

- Jess came, Lorelai stated. - How did you swing that one?

- I have my ways.

Lorelai raised a brow, something Rory quickly caught on.

- Nothing's happened, she insisted. - Not yet.

- Not yet, Lorelai asked.

- We're in a good place, Rory shrugged.

- How good, Lorelai wanted to know.

- Not quite there, but soon heading there?

- How soon are we talking, here?

- I don't know.

- But you'll tell me before it happens?

- Same agreement as before still applies, Rory assured her.

- Even if I'm, say, in labor, you'll still tell me if it was happening?

- Since I'm going to be there in the waiting room, I have high doubts for that being the case, Rory pointed out. - But, yes. Even then I'd tell you.

- Good, Lorelai nodded. - I just wanted to make sure.

- And you did, Rory replied. - But can we please steer this conversation more to why you called? I promised Lane that Jess and I would come over and listen to some of the guitarists they're auditioning.

- You mean to tell me, you're gonna ditch your own mother, the woman who birthed you, just to be with Jess and Lane?

- I originally told Lane I was gonna stay behind at Yale this weekend, which I was, if it hadn't for you calling, begging me to reconsider, Rory pointed out. - So I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone.

- How do I know you're not just saying that?

- Because the auditions are being held in _our_ garage, Rory replied, dryly.

- Oh, that.

- So why did you call?

- Well, Lorelai began. - There was an emergency town meeting tonight.

- Oh no, Rory sighed. - Please don't tell me Taylor's still tormenting you about the inn.

- No, Taylor's been good, ever since I got him to sign that contract, Lorelai grinned. - The meeting was about Stars Hollow taking over hosting duties from Woodbury for the _'The Festival of Living Pictures'_.

- Cool, Rory exclaimed.

- Very cool, Lorelai agreed. - So what I wanted to talk to you about is Taylor asking me to be in charge for costumes. Since I'm supposed to avoid stress, I was wondering if you wanted to help me out with it.

- Definitely, Rory nodded. - Count me in.

- Taylor said I'd already get some of the costumes tomorrow, which is why I wanted you to come home. So we could maybe get started?

- Okay, Rory replied.

- This is gonna be so much fun, Lorelai grinned. - The only thing that bugs me is I'm not gonna be able to be the Renoir girl this time. Not unless for some reason Renoir's risen from the grave to paint a version with her pregnant in it.

- Somehow I doubt it, Rory shrugged. - So that's the reason for the face?

- What face, Lorelai asked, confused.

- The _'ghost of Christmas past'_-face you do when something's bothering you, Rory explained.

- I hope you didn't just tell me I look like Ebenezer Scrooge.

- I didn't mean it literally, Rory sighed. - It just looks like you were awoken by a ghost this morning.

- Would a ghostly visit around midday count?

- What happened then?

- That's when Sookie announced to me that her and Jackson decided to skip the hospital and have the baby at home.

- Home birth, Rory asked, horrified.

- I'm talking plastic sheets, buckets...

- Why do they need.., Rory began asking. - Oh... forget I even asked.

- _And_ on top of all that, Sookie asked me if I could be there for when it happened.

- Oh, no, Rory cringed. - What did you say?

- I didn't know what else to do, so I played the doctor's note excuse, Lorelai shrugged. - As much as I want to be supportive, home births just creeps me out. Sure, it was okay back when it was the only option, but now that we have hospitals... it's completely insane. I mean, that's what they're there for.

Lorelai shuddered, just by thinking about it.

- Hey, Rory suddenly said, pointing to across the road. - Who's that girl over there talking to Kirk?

- That's Lulu, Kirk's girlfriend, Lorelai informed her.

- Shut up, Rory exclaimed, laughing. - When did this happen?

- I think their first date was two weeks ago.

- So I guess this means he's over his crush on you, Rory noted. - How are you handling it?

- Of course I'm devastated, Lorelai deadpanned.

- Of course, Rory nodded.

- But somehow I'm just gonna have to make it through this.

- Make it through what, Luke asked, putting Lorelai's food onto the table in front of her.

- That Kirk's no longer crushing on her, Rory replied. - Hi Luke.

- Hey Rory, he replied. - I didn't know you were coming home this weekend.

- Well, I _was_ planning on staying behind at Yale, Rory said, giving Lorelai a pointed look. - But then mom called, so I came anyway.

- Well, are you hungry, he asked.

- I think I'll have what she's having, Rory replied, nodding towards Lorelai, then gave the plate a second look. - But substitute the salad with some chili fries. And a coffee.

- Does it really have to take you girls getting pregnant before you'll consider eating anything remotely healthy, Luke asked.

- Seems that way, Lorelai grinned. - Hey, before I forget. You left your spatula at my house, yesterday.

- I know, Luke replied. - I did it on purpose, so I don't have to bring it back and forth all the time.

- But don't _you_ need it, Lorelai asked confused.

- I have others, Luke said, rolling his eyes, then turned to Rory. - The food will be ten minutes.

As Luke once again left for the kitchen, Rory turned and gave Lorelai a pointed look.

- So, she said. - What was Luke doing at our house, yesterday?

- Cooking dinner, Lorelai shrugged, casually.

- Since when did Luke start cooking you dinner?

- Since you were about eleven, and we started eating here, Lorelai replied.

- I meant at the house, Rory pointed out, rolling her eyes. - How long has this been going on?

- Nothing's _going on_, Lorelai insisted. - Luke just wanted to make sure I had a healthy meal, since I'm not going to the regular Friday Night Dinners.

- Uhuh, Rory said, unconvinced. - And the reason you failed to mention this to me is because..?

- I didn't want you to make it into more than it is.

- Which is...?

- He comes over, he makes dinner and we just hang out and talk. Yesterday he helped put in the car seat I bought for the Jeep. I'm telling you, instructions that come with these things are _impossible_ to follow.

- So you're saying this is just a 'friends hanging out' ordeal, Rory asked, her brows raised.

- I don't know, Lorelai sighed. - There are parts where I think 'maybe', but most of the time it all feels very casual. I don't know, I'm just so confused and I don't want to get my hopes up.

- You haven't told him yet, have you?

- No, Lorelai said, shaking her head.

- Why not, Rory asked.

Lorelai gazed towards the kitchen, where she could make out the blue, checkered flannel shirt that covered Luke's back as he seemed to be flipping Rory's burger.

- I don't know, she sighed.

TBC


	46. I want to try again

AN: Because I'm so nice... or at least pretending to be nice, and I just finished writing chapter 49 (that's right, so if you're good boys and girls and give review (preferably lengthy ones), you will get the updates faster), you're getting this one already the day after the previous one. As usual, thank you, Steph for the betaing. 

**cywen** - I've read buckice, if you click on my favorite authors, you'll see that she's one of the four people on that list. She's one of the people I talk to on MSN regularly. But even though I love her and her writing to death, we are two _very_ different people in terms of writing style and interessts. I think the only show the two of us have in common is in fact Gilmore Girls. 

**smileyGGfan** - LOL, you thought she'd wet herself? Now that's funny... lol. Yes, 7x01 is one of the two episodes I've seen of season seven. At the moment I'm still boycotting, but I'll try again with one of the future episodes. Until then, spoilers for me. Great to see you reviewing again. Where did you go? 

**Asta-Gilmore** - I know what you mean about the seventh season, the more I read about it, the more grateful I am that I haven't seen the episodes I read about. As for your question, well you'll know soon enough. 

**laylaskye** - That's nice to hear. Well, you will see more of Lorelai's inner battle, I can tell you that much. 

**bellybuttonsrcool** - Love that I still have you with me, despite all. 

**sarahb2007** - I didn't mean to ignore you, but you won't find out when she tells Luke until you read it.

* * *

The one good thing about the festival happening across the square was Luke not having to toss Kirk out of the diner to close up. In fact, the past week had resulted in less appearances of Kirk, which was a blessing, any day. He didn't, however, like how Lorelai had gotten herself entangled into the chaos of it, no matter how much he knew she loved it. If her doctor told her to take it easy, she should listen, damnit. Luckily, the few times he'd crossed the square to see how everything was going, praying each time that no one would try talking him into helping out, Lorelai seemed to be doing fine. It helped ease his mind that Rory had come home a couple of afternoons that week to help out. No matter how little Lorelai wanted to listen, Rory had a way to push it through. So much like her mother, that one. 

Luke flipped the sign over from 'open' to 'closed'. Due to the great lull the festival had brought on, he'd sent Ceasar home an hour early and after having stood up at the register for half an hour, going through old receipts and no one had come in, he'd decided to close early and maybe head up to watch the game afterwards. He wiped off the tables and put the chairs up. With Ceasar already having done the dishes as well as cleaning the grill, there was nothing that needed doing in the kitchen. Taking out the rag to wipe off the counter before heading up, he suddenly heard the bell ring above the diner. 

Of course she had to come over now. It was as though the 'closed' sign was a magnet for her. How often hadn't he turned the sign over, only to have her walk in five to ten minutes later. Of course she never listened when he said the diner was closed, but he pointed it out anyway. Today was no exception. 

- We're closed, you know. 

He turned around, expecting to see his best friend and instead spotted, besides his dead parents and absent sister, the least likely person to be showing up here. His not yet ex-wife, Nicole. After staring at her for about a minute he finally spoke. 

- What are you doing here, he asked, the shock apparent in his voice. - Did I forget to sign somewhere..? 

He resisted the temptation to add the word _'again'_ behind to his question. It wasn't Nicole's fault that he had failed to sign the dotted lines on one of the many additional papers her lawyers had brought over. 

- Why don't we start with 'hello', she suggested. - And move on from there? 

- Hello, he replied. 

- Well, that's a good start, she chuckled. - Mind if I sit down? 

She gestured to one of the bar stools by the counter. 

- Um, sure, he replied. - You want some coffee? 

- I'd love some, Nicole replied, warmly. 

Luke turned to turn the machine back on and pulled out a cup. 

- I didn't know you closed this early, she continued, when he didn't say anything. - If I'd known, I'd come by some other day. 

- I don't, he shrugged. - It's just this festival has all my regulars relatively occupied, so I figured I'd close early for once, you know. Maybe watch a game. 

- Hey, don't let me stop you. I can always come back tomorrow. 

- Tomorrow, he asked. 

- Or some other day, she shrugged, giving him a smile which with the silence in return ended in somewhat of a sigh. - Look, I didn't come here to make you uncomfortable. 

- Why did you come here? 

It was an honest question, one he'd wanted an answer to ever since she walked through that door. She'd cut her hair, he noticed. Of course it had been a couple of months since the last time he saw her and she could've done it ages ago for all he knew. Nicole didn't answer him right away. While he was noting the changes in her, she was probably noting the lack of changes in him. 

- I've missed you, she finally said, meeting his gaze. 

- So you decided to just come over, he asked. 

- Yeah, she confirmed. - Nutty, huh? 

- A bit, he agreed. - But I guess that's just the theme for the day. This whole town's gone crazy, not that that's unusual. 

- Yeah, Nicole nodded. - I saw. It looks fun. And as usual, you're doing everything you can to avoid it. 

- Yeah, he said, absently as he turned to fetch the coffee pot. 

- Well, Nicole said. - As long as we're on the subject of crazy, this thing with you and me... The whole thing's a bit ironic, don't you think? One day we're dating and things are going well, then three weeks later, we're not even speaking. And I can't really put my finger on why that is. Why were we so suddenly over? 

- I strictly remember us _both_ filing for a divorce, Luke pointed out. 

- I know, she nodded. - But I've been thinking lately. Of course we rushed into this whole getting married thing. There's no denying it, but wouldn't rushing into a divorce be just as bad? 

- I don't exactly call an endless line of paperwork rushing it, he commented, dryly. 

Nicole chuckled. 

- I apologize for my partners, she said, genuinely. - They're a bit square when it comes to the procedures, but they're all really good at their jobs. 

- I have yet to get a copy of the divorce papers, Luke pointed out. 

- That one's my fault. I asked them to hold them back. 

- Why, Luke wanted to know. 

- I wanted to see if maybe you'd be willing to... I don't know... try again? 

- Try again, he asked, surprised. - Try again, as what? Husband and wife? Until those papers are signed by both of us, that's what we are. 

- I know, but lets just forget about that for now, Nicole suggested. - Everything was great up until that cruise. I don't see a reason that we couldn't try again. 

- We're in the middle of a divorce, he pointed out. 

- But, what if we postpone it, she suggested. 

- Postpone it, he asked, his brows raised. 

- For now, she shrugged. - We could just try and see where this leads us. 

- Try what? 

- Date, Nicole suggested. 

- You want us to go back to dating, he asked. - Even though we're legally married? 

- Lets just forget about that for the time being. 

- So what you're saying is we get back together, not divorced, but not be married, either? 

- See? You're getting it. 

- Not really, Luke answered, honestly. 

- I know it sounds stupid, Nicole acknowledged. - But it doesn't feel stupid, does it? 

She looked at him with hopeful eyes. 

- Look, the divorce isn't going anywhere, she told him. - I'm not saying we should commit or anything. We can go as slow or as fast as we please. All we're really doing is putting off signing the papers for one more day. 

Luke sighed. He probably had to get his head examined, because as crazy as all this was, she was starting to make sense. 

- So _dating_, he asked. 

- Dating, she confirmed. - I mean, what do we have to lose? 

Luke shrugged. She made a good point. What was the harm in postponing the divorce? 

- So I guess we should make a date, he finally said. 

- Well, I'm working late all next week, so how about Friday? 

- Friday, he asked. 

- Is that a bad time, she wondered. 

Remembering really well how just his friendship with Lorelai made Nicole feel uncomfortable, he reckoned telling her he would be going over to Lorelai's house to make her dinner wouldn't be the best thing right now. 

- I can't Friday, he told her. 

- Okay, she shrugged. - How about Saturday? 

- That's better, he agreed. 

- Then, Saturday it is, she nodded, taking a sip of her coffee. - Mmm, just the way I remembered it. 

TBC 

AN: Yes, people. I know you hate me. I know you're right at this moment envisioning yourself running after me, who's been tarred and feathered prior to this, carrying pitchforks, torches and sending really hungry wolves after me. And I'm not even gonna start on making the speech you're all so tired of hearing. Either you trust me, or you don't. But do feel free to send howlers, assassins, descriptions on the many ways you're gonna torture me until I come back to my senses. I read your warnings, but this was already in the cards back when this story was still in planning mode, so there was nothing much I could do to get out of it. Doing so would actually destroy the story, believe it or not. Okay... commence the torture... 


	47. David Edward Belleville

AN: Okay, I'm psyched up from writing all day long, plus I've gotten massives of reviews, so of course I have to update. Loving the threats, people. And yes, sorry that last chapter as a Luke/Nicole themed one, but in what other way could I write the return of Nicole? Steph is as always a wonderful beta, I thought I should just mention it. Also, for those who wants to see that I _can_ in fact do happy LL, you can check out the links to my LL vids in my profile ;) 

**smileyGGfan** - I know which episode I'm gonna watch next and if that keeps up what it promises, then I'll try watching the ones leading up to it. Until then, I'm sticking to fics. Aww, I remember how bad high school was. I actually have rants about it posted online somewhere... lol. I was such a different person back then. As for schoolwork now it's completely different, less amount of subjects, but when I work on assignments I sit until 6, 8 even 10 pm. 

**rollsdownhill** - It's actually fun to see people who likes what I do, even when it's an evil twist... lol 

**scubaluver** - Okay, do you really think I'd do that? I mean, sure I'm evil, but there's a difference between evil and evil, you know? 

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - Of course it'll play an important part... what's the point in giving it this much focus if it didn't? 

**fee-kh** - Okay, everyone, just so we're clear there will be _no_ birthmark ordeal, okay? So stop worrying. 

**Corinna** - If you think Germans speaking english is bad, just listen to the Norwegians interviewers. Some of them are so horrible I just want to hide under a table. 

**Asta-Gilmore** - Oh, thank God, a Dane that's NOT a BB-er. The scandinavian thread at FanForum only has two LL supporters, both are Norwegian, all the Swedes and Danes are BB-ers.

* * *

The call had come around 2 am Monday morning where Jackson proudly proclaimed that just a little over two hours ago, he'd become the father to David Edward Belleville, Davey for short. Even though Lorelai took it easy now-a-days, just getting through a regular lazy Sunday with her favorite daughter had become a real workout. She couldn't remember getting this exhausted back when she'd been pregnant with Rory, but of course back then she had the energy of the hyped teenager she'd been, plus all the coffee she drank back then had been pure caffeinated coffee and not the whole half'n half ordeal. So by the time the clock struck nine, her mind was already set on getting to bed. 

After telling Jackson congratulations, saying the same to Sookie and she'd heard for herself the lung capacity of little Davey, they had hung up, since she, per Sookie's request had been first on the list to call and Jackson still had a lot of calls to make. Lorelai had received a fair death threat from Paris, who had been closer to the phone when it rang, then one similar one from Rory, before Lorelai shared with her girl the news of baby Davey finally entering the world. They had continued talking for about half an hour before Rory regretfully informed her mother that there was such a thing called early classes, which was something that occurred pretty frequently on Mondays at Yale. 

That had been anticipated, a severe case of insomnia, however, had not. By the time the clock said 4 am, Lorelai had given up on the idea of getting back to sleep, so instead she continued on the project of sewing a curtain to put around the crib to function as a shield from any bright light coming in the bedroom window, as well as acting as a pretend wall, making it seem as though the baby had his or her own room, instead of bunking with mommy. No matter how Rory was now a college girl and her room was left vacant most of the time, the idea of turning her room into a nursery for the new addition just didn't sit well with her. She wanted Rory, no matter what she had going on in her life, to be able to come home at just a moments notice and still find her room to be _her_ room. Also, it would be months before it even would be an idea to make up a designated room for the baby. Maybe, if she was lucky, she would be able to afford constructing an additional room for her house. Right now it just wasn't in the cards. The money she didn't need for herself, Rory or preparations for the baby, all went towards the inn. 

As Lorelai eventually finished the curtain around midday, only pausing for pop-tarts, coffee and take-out, it took her entire will power not to go straight on over to Sookie's house to meet baby Davey. Knowing Sookie needed her rest, especially after unbelievable 26 hours of labor, _ouch_, she had told Sookie she would be coming over Tuesday, sometime before noon. And just as she'd promised, she arrived at Sookie and Jackson's house promptly at eleven, only to be met in the doorway by a very plump woman she'd never seen before in her entire life. 

- Who are you, the woman demanded with an expression that made Lorelai think of sergeants addressing their troops. 

- Who am I, Lorelai asked, taken aback by the woman's harsh tone. 

- What's your business here? 

- I'm here to see Sookie? Who the hell are you? 

- Are you feeling okay, the woman asked, ignoring Lorelai's last question. - Headaches? Sniffles? Sneezes? Coughs? A fever? 

- _Bruce_, Sookie called, coming to the door from the livingroom. 

Lorelai sighed. _Saved by the gourmet chef._

- Bruce, Sookie continued. - It's okay. She can come in. 

Bruce, as the woman apparently was called, reluctantly stepped aside to let Lorelai in. 

- Bruce, this is my best friend, Lorelai, Sookie said, making the introductions. - Lorelai, this is Bruce. Bruce's the midwife that delivered little Davey. 

- Oh, Lorelai said in realization. - Speaking of baby boy Belleville. Where is handsome? 

- Right over there, Sookie said, gesturing to the bassinet on the living room table. - I put him down when I went to get you because we're trying to keep him away from germs, since it's flu season right now. Hey, you wanna hold him? 

Lorelai spotted in the corner of her mind Bruce almost moving to object, but the woman let her follow Sookie over to the table. Taking place in Jackson's recliner, since he wasn't nearby to use it anyway, Lorelai held out her arms for Sookie to place the baby in. 

Even after nineteen years, Lorelai still remembered, as if it was yesterday, how surprisingly light and tiny baby Rory was when the nurse had placed her little baby girl, her perfect angel into her arms, compared to how enormous Rory had felt while coming out of her. Rory's entire body hadn't been bigger than Lorelai's two palms. Her arms and legs had been as long and as thick as two of Lorelai's fingers put together. Lorelai could still vividly remember how Rory squirmed in her arms, as she tested out every possibility she had of movement. How her eyes never met her own, but still she knew that the baby she held in her hands recognized her as her mother. It was funny how holding her friend's newborn son was bringing her down memory lane like this. Like Rory, Davey was incredibly tiny. The exact size of him was hidden in the big baby blanket that Sookie had him wrapped in, but Lorelai knew he was just as tiny as Rory had been. The lack of eye contact, which was a common thing amongst newborns, the squirmish movement in her arms. It was like having Rory back in her arms, even though this baby was both a boy and not her boy. Lorelai wondered if this new baby of hers would be just as little. She'd read somewhere that the second baby usually was a little bit bigger than the first one. Lorelai hoped that wouldn't be the case with this one, as she remembered it being hard enough as it was giving birth to baby Rory. 

Lorelai was brought out of her trip down memory lane as Davey suddenly twitched as he experienced what Lorelai guessed to be his first hick-ups. She almost started laughing as baby Davey made a startled expression, while seemingly trying to ponder what on earth had happened to him. He scrunched up his face and Lorelai was sure he was going to cry and she prepared herself to hand him back to his mother as he suddenly broke into a yawn. 

- My God, Sookie, Lorelai murmured, completely dazed. - He's adorable. 

- You should see him when he's hungry, Sookie replied, gazing lovingly down at her son. 

- He has a cute cry, Lorelai guessed, remembering how she used to think Rory had that. 

- No, Sookie shook her head. - He doesn't cry. Not when he's hungry at least. He's not very fond of being changed, though. 

Lorelai chuckled. 

- Few babies are, she shrugged. - In the beginning Rory used to hate it when I took the dirty diaper off and even more when I put a dry one back on. She loved being naked. Sometimes I think that if I'd let her, she'd grow up a nudist. 

- I can just picture her, Sookie laughed. - No, wait... I can't. 

- So, how's Jackson with Davey, Lorelai wanted to know. 

- He's great, but he's a bit afraid of holding him. For some reason Jackson thinks that he might end up dropping him or crushing him or something. 

- Well, that's normal, Lorelai shrugged. - I was afraid that if I so much as breathed at Rory she'd fall apart. She was so tiny and she looked so fragile in my hands, like she was made out of the thinnest porcelain there was. 

Sookie seemed to be about to answer, when Davey turned his head so his mouth connected with Lorelai's upper arm and he started opening and closing his mouth, franticly trying to find food. 

- That's what he does, Sookie pointed out as she lifted Davey up into her own arms and set down in her own recliner, resting the arm holding Davey's head up on a couple of pillows from the couch. - Yesterday, I'd just convinced Jackson to hold him by letting Davey rest his head on his shoulder and suddenly Davey started doing that while head banging as though he was at a rock concert or something. I really wish I had a camera, because it was so cute. 

- I'd lend you mine, but I kinda need it myself, Lorelai replied, gesturing to her own pregnant belly. 

- I know, sweetie, Sookie replied. - Speaking of pictures, how did the festival go? 

- It was great if you don't count Carol Dandridge not really doing such a good job on the Renoir girl. One would think they would pick someone who looked a _little_ more like me to do the job? 

- Hey, why didn't Rory do it, Sookie suggested. - She is your kid after all. Your spitting image. 

- No, Rory already had something else. 

- Really, Sookie asked. - I thought she'd be a bit too old to be a Chineese acrobat. 

- No, Lorelai chuckled. - The roles of the acrobats have been passed on to the next generation. Rory was actually featuring in the original painting this year, the _'Portrait of a Young Girl Named Anthea'_. 

- Well, that's good, Sookie pointed out. - Too bad you didn't like your successor in the painting. 

- Yeah well, Lorelai shrugged. - I tried pitching to Taylor the idea of making the Renoir girl pregnant, but he didn't go for it. 

- So much for improvisation, Sookie sighed. - I'm really sorry, sweetie. 

- I'll be okay, Lorelai shrugged. - I'll just have to make sure I'm not pregnant the next time. 

- Yeah, Sookie giggled. - I think that would help your chance. But other than the Renoir-ordeal, did anything fun happen? 

- Well, Lorelai laughed. - Did I tell you about Christ, Judas and the rest of the apostles in _'The Last Supper'_ getting into a fight right before going on stage...? 

- Oooh, Sookie exclaimed, her eyes wide. - Do tell... 

TBC 


	48. Breakdown

AN: Okay people, I really should be holding the chapter back a day or two more since there was quite a drop in reviews, but since I'm nice (okay I'm not, but today I am), I'm in a good mood from just finishing writing chapter 50 and I wanted to update today so that I could dedicate this to my niece who turns one year old today: **Happy birthday, Johanna!** I decided to let you guys off with a warning. If the reviews stay low for this chapter as well, then I _will_ hold chapters back and trust me when I say that you _don't_ want me to do that.

**cywen69** - Just because an episode airs on a specific date, doesn't mean that's the date in the storyline. Sometimes there are timeleaps, other times there are episodes that are only days apart. Bottom line, I'm trying to follow the timeflow in the show, not the airdates. I'm not saying I'm without mistakes, but if so it's due to me missing a mentioning of a date in an episode. As always I appreciate your honesty, but to be honest with you, it now feels like you're _trying_ to find something to be negative about. (Sorry, that's just me being honest)

**flcrkr** - You can never be lame-o. You always give me great feedback when you beta and then giving me reviews on top of that... it's great!

**Gymtig** - Davey's full name is said in the episode "Always a Godmother, never a God".

**Corinna** - Well, she will definately remember the time with Rory, but she's aware that it will be different with this one, since she's older and in a different stage of life now. I should hope you fall in love with the baby. I wouldn't be doing my job right if you hated it.

**Asta-Gilmore** - I'm relieved to hear that :)

**sarahb2007** - My favorite episode of all time is without a doubt "Last week fights, this week tights". The dance between LL really says everything that needs saying about their relationship. If you study it a little bit you'll see what I mean.

**MeltdownInThePark** - Seriously? They finished airing season 6 this Summer here in Norway, you can't really mean Australia is that far behind? Or were you talking about box sets? Cause we're getting season 4 one of these days now. And I agree with you L/C or Lorpey as I now like to call it (Lorelai/Dopey) plainly sucks!

**smileyGGfan** - I saved the link and left you a comment on your profile (I'm smeagolkitten at YouTube), gonna watch your vids later. I'm not gonna spoil you, so I'm giving no comments. I don't have designated time for homework, I just decide to some days do a lot and other days to go home early (or not go to a lecture at all). I'm repeating myself, but here goes: The baby will come in a round chapter and I'm very excited about it.

* * *

Lorelai now knew what a stroke must feel like, not that she'd physically ever had one, despite Luke constantly reminding her that she was eating her way towards one. But the way she was feeling right this moment, she'd rather it was a stroke. At least then there would be treatment. Her chest hurt, probably from the fast pace she'd kept all the way from the diner, while she had focused all her remaining energy on keeping her emotions in check. Her eyes were now physically burning, tears threatening to burst at any moment. It was physically hard to breathe. Shortness of breath was common amongst women in her condition, but she knew... she _knew_ that this was not in any way connected to her pregnancy.

As she entered her house, she barely mustered the energy to make it to the couch, where she finally broke down in tears as the last fifteen minutes returned to her.

She and Michel had just left Sookie's, where Lorelai once again had gotten the opportunity to hold little Davey. It astounded her how a kid that wasn't even her own could affect her like that. She suspected Davey hit a soft spot, as she would in just a few weeks time be holding her own little one. But it was also more than that. Because as bad as she had felt about not yet having told Luke that he was going to be a father, holding Davey, watching him react to the strange sounds of the house, it made her think about how, even though she would be having that really soon, Luke still had no idea what he would be missing.

Even though he was a boy, Davey made her think about Rory. Her baby girl never had much of an active father. Although Christopher had been ready to do the right thing, in terms of marrying her and providing for her, the minute she had made it clear to him it wasn't gonna happen that way, he had shown little or no interest in still being a father for his kid. She had taken off to Stars Hollow, around the same time Chris had left for California. And with exception of phone calls, letters and the occasional holiday gatherings at Lorelai's parent's house, Chris had pretty much been absent from her and Rory's life. Even now, when he was living in Boston, which wasn't that far away, the last time Rory had physically seen her father had been at the birth of her baby half-sister. Lorelai hadn't even spoken with him since then and Rory hadn't mentioned anything on whether or not she'd been in contact with him since going off to Yale. Chris had done his usual and vanished from their lives... again.

Luke wasn't Christopher. Sure, the same willingness to do the right thing was right there in Luke, as it had been in Chris. And it would mean more coming from Luke as it wouldn't be the result of what his or her parents wanted. She also knew that even though her answer would be 'no', as it would be for all the wrong reasons, Luke would still stick around. He would be a father. No matter how much he could complain about kids and jam hands, Lorelai knew Luke would make an excellent father. If only she could get over whatever it was that was preventing her from coming clean with him, then her new baby would have the father he or she deserved.

As she had been gazing down at drowsy baby Davey, all she could think of was little no-name Gilmore growing in her womb and how, unlike how it was with Rory, it would be her own fault that her baby would be missing out on a father. And she made her decision. She would go right over to Luke's. She wouldn't tell him right there or ask him to talk to her in private in his apartment. There would be too many people waiting for him when he came down and it wouldn't be giving him time to react. No. Instead, she was going to ask him to come over that night, convincing him to postpone whatever it was that he, over the phone that morning, had told her might collide with their weekly dinner arrangement.

So after Bruce had disrupted the already pretty screwed-up attempt of a business meeting, she'd taken off with Michel, teasing him with baby talk the whole way over to the diner. Her mood had been a good one. Of course she was nervous about the whole finally going to tell Luke about the baby, and she was dreading his immediate reaction, but in a way it still was a good kinda nervous. Then of course she'd gone in and her world had come to a crashing halt.

There, sitting in the diner as though she belonged there, was Nicole. Last time Lorelai even heard a mentioning of the woman, it was that her and Luke weren't even talking, unless one counted the never ending interaction through their respective divorce lawyers. With Nicole living in New York and the very important factor of her not even being on speaking terms with her _'husband'_, the chance that she was just stopping by for no particular reason, it just wasn't there.

Lorelai knew she should've just turned around and walked out. Of course, before she could, Nicole spotted her and the two were forced to make polite small talk. The way Nicole kept looking down towards her stomach every now and then made Lorelai all sorts of uncomfortable. She didn't like how it made her feel guilty, especially since she had done nothing wrong, despite the way it would look like to an outsider. Even more, she hated that when Nicole eventually were to ask Luke about his role in all this, he wouldn't even be lying when answering that it wasn't his, because as far as he knew, it wasn't. But most of all, she hated how she, because of this, wouldn't be able to tell him the truth. If she didn't manage to beat Nicole to the question, by telling him the truth, she would make Luke into a liar and even if she did manage to do it before Nicole asked, who was she to put Luke in the position where he had to explain something he had no control over? Both scenarios would only lead to her wrecking a marriage that Luke obviously, because of Nicole's presence and his wanting to postpone the dinner tonight to another day, deemed worth saving.

Not feeling ready to face Luke, especially not with Nicole present, Lorelai found herself making up some idiotic reason she didn't even remember now, just so she'd get out of there without raising any suspicion. She had walked so fast, she'd been on the verge of running. She just couldn't get away from the diner fast enough. She felt heartbroken, not to mention humiliated by how horribly she'd handled seeing Nicole in the flesh.

Sitting on the couch, she just wished to have someone to talk to, someone to tell her everything would be alright. But Sookie didn't know the full extent on why this was hurting her this much, plus she had Davey to take care of. Rory was still in classes and by the time she finished, she would be busy preparing for Friday Night Dinner. Plus Lorelai knew that her telling Rory would only lead to her girl wanting to come home to comfort her, thereby disrupting her catching up with the assignments she'd put off while helping out with the festival.

No, Lorelai was on her own on this. Her stomach was churning out of hunger, but the idea of ordering take-out and having the delivery man see her like this, all puffy and teary, with the way news traveled in a place like Stars Hollow, it wasn't very appealing. Instead, when she finally pulled herself together long enough to make it to the kitchen, she hoped stale Chinese take-out from yesterday and pop-tarts would bide her hunger.

TBC


	49. Sorry about the mess

AN: Okay, I didn't mean the thing I wrote in my last AN to be viewed as a thread. Usually in the past I've waited between 3-7 days between chapters, it's just these past few days it's been daily, so it was more me saying that if you wanted to keep that up, then reviewing would be the way to do it. I'm sorry if I maybe don't answer everything written, I've been up for 29 hours now, so I'm in really a cookoo mood. Steph is a wonderful beta, but that goes without saying.

**Asta-Gilmore** - Dopey is free reign, make sure you take a picture cause I wanna see it!

**scubaluver** - Yes, Lorelai's in quite bit of a situation and she knows it. She had a window of oportunity and she was too late to take it and now she has to deal with that. As for where in Norway, well I'm from a little town at the middle of the West Coast, if you've been in that area, then further details might be of interest. But I moved to Bergen to go to college and if I get a job here, then I'm staying put. Where in Norway have you been?

**gilmorian** - Lorelai isn't waiting for a specific time. She has no clue what she's to do next regarding the situation. Right now it's all a bit too much for _her_, so she's not even ready to consider how much it'll be for the other people involved (it's a natural selfish psyche we all share a part of, whether we like it or not). Regarding Davey and the coming baby, I'll try to do my best. (But I won't make a promise, in case I can't keep it) Luckily I've had recent experience with my two nieces. I even stumbled over this thing I wrote back when my first niece was born, which was of great help to remember the little things she did when she was a newborn.

**Gymtig** - Luke _did_ schedule the date for Saturday. Nicole just showed up. You'll hear a little bit more about it in this chapter.

**cywen69** - I've been up for almost 30 hours and I haven't got the energy and frankly it's pointless to argue. Yes, a lot of your critisism has been constructive and even though you might think I don't appreciate it, I do, but there are the occasional comments that I, personally have trouble seeing as constructive (Being compared to another writer, no matter how brilliant she is, is one of them. Writers are individuals and we have different things that inspire us, which leads to different styles, techniques, a different mentality), but enough about that. It's behind me and I hope it's behind you. I can't make you like the Lorelai in my story, while I feel she's still in character, I can't change what you feel about her. I respect your opinion. Maybe you'll come around to her, maybe you won't. I can't predict that. I won't say anything about Luke's reaction to the truth (because she _will_ tell him), other than it'll be realistic.

**MeltdownInThePark** - Wow, sounds to me that Gilmore Girls to you guys is what Buffy was to us. They tried stopping it several times. It took two years from when they airead season 3 and when they aired season 4. So, I feel for you. I've been there and it wasn't fun!

**smileyGGfan** - Wanna know what I have on in the background? It's one of your vids. You can congratulate yourself to so far be the only one to have made a vid with that many clips from season 7 that I've willingly watched over and over again. That's meant as a huge compliment. I still wish I had the vid on my computer, though.

* * *

It had been three hours since Lorelai had gone to bed and still she couldn't sleep. Replaying in her mind was not the embarrassing encounter with Nicole, but the confrontation she'd had with Luke about it just hours later. Quite possibly Lorelai had never felt so embarrassed in her entire life. Sure, Luke was used to her insane babblings, but she'd right out pounced on him with the whole Nicole issue, giving him little or no chance to defend himself.

Luke had in fact been wonderful. Instead of getting offended or worked up by the things she said, he'd calmly tried to talk her into sitting down for the baby's sake. Of course she was too hurt and angry, not to mention confused to even listen to him one bit and she'd kept on following him around as he served his customers. She questioned everything; his marriage, his choice to get back together with Nicole and even his friendship with her. And strangely enough, Luke didn't raise his voice back at her, not even once. He kept on trying to get her to calm down, but he didn't raise his voice.

Far from calm, Lorelai finally shouted out her last, childish insult from the door and took off. By the time she reached her own front door, she was feeling awful. She finished off the last of the Chinese food in the fridge as well as the last pop tart and tried to watch TV to take her mind off the whole thing. Not surprisingly, it didn't work. She'd picked up the phone and dialed all the digits in Rory's phone number, save one. First of all, Rory could still be having dinner at the Gilmore Manor. Secondly, Lorelai knew she couldn't be selfish and let her daughter sacrifice a weekend of studying just because her mother had an episode of 'attack of the hormones'.

Finally around eleven, she gave up on drowning her sorrows with the TV and went upstairs to get some sleep. Of course, sleep didn't happen. She kept tossing and turning, throwing the covers off because it was warm, then ten minutes later pulling them back over her because it was cold. She also began suspecting the Chinese food to maybe be a bit _too_ old for her to be eating it, as her stomach was aching slightly. Of course this could also just be a physical side-effect from all of the stress this day had brought her.

She tried to force herself to sleep by squeezing her eyes closed and pulling the cover over her head. Of course, since that had about the same effect on sleeping as punching a bruise had on the bruise healing, it simply didn't work. And every time she checked the time on her alarm clock, it had only been five minutes since the last time she checked. As reading had helped her sleep in the past, she pulled out one of the baby books she had lying on the nightstand, _'Love you forever'_.

It was a book she used to read to Rory when she was just a baby, but as she'd been in a hurry when she packed up everything that day she made the decision to leave her parents house for good, she'd forgotten to pack it and since then it had remained in her old room. Of course it hadn't mattered much, as by then she had the book memorized and as Rory was growing up, Lorelai had recited it whenever Rory requested the story.

Lorelai and Rory never really fought until Rory had reached far into her teens, but even though they never fought, there had been a couple of occasions where they had come close to it. One had been when Rory was turning seven and Chris had forgotten to send his daughter a birthday present. It hadn't been uncommon for him to forget, but Lorelai had always kinda covered his back by digging into her limited savings, to buy her kid something that she could say came from her dad. That year, Rory had come home from school early, just as Lorelai had finished wrapping the present and was writing a note from Chris to go with the gift. Lorelai hadn't heard the door, hadn't noticed her girl coming in and Rory snuck back out and instead went to the reception desk to see Mia.

So when Rory had come in around the time she usually came home from school, Lorelai had fibbed and told her that she had just picked up the mail and that Chris had sent her a birthday present. Rory, recognizing the wrapping paper as well as the note, had crossed her arms and shouted out _'liar'_. Rory had run back to Mia, who in return after hearing the girl out had gone to get Lorelai. After having to explain to her sobbing kid that her father _forgot_ to send a gift this year, Rory had been so ashamed of what she'd said that she almost didn't let Lorelai throw her a birthday party. As Lorelai simply hushed her and held her close while Rory finished crying, Rory recited one of Lorelai's favorite parts of _'Love you forever'_, the part where the boy, who's all grown up goes to see his sick mother and holds her while he sings; _'I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, As long as I'm living My Mommy you'll be'_. And then Rory had added that the only thing she ever needed was her mommy.

Seeing the book on the shelf that day she'd gone to buy the car seat, it had brought back those memories and she ended up, not just buying that book, but several other books to also read for her baby. That night she'd even found herself reading one of the books out loud for the baby, even though she'd felt a bit silly doing it. She had saved this book for later as she wanted it to be the first story her baby was read after he or she was born, but with everything else that had gone on today, she simply needed the book she read to be this particular book. Opening it to the first page where there was an illustration of a mother sitting in a blue recliner, holding her sleeping baby in her arms, Lorelai let her eyes for a moment wander to the crib standing near the foot of her bed, then she started to read.

- _A mother held her new baby and very slowly rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she held him, she sang: 'I'll love you forever I'll like you for always, As long as I'm living My baby you'll be'..._

As much as the book managed to calm her, it still didn't take her mind completely off the day's events and as she finished the last passage where the grown man goes home to sing the same song for his daughter that his mother sang for him, it took less than ten minutes before her head managed to angle the serene image of a father cradling his baby girl to one of Luke standing in her bedroom, doing the same, then that turned into one where the baby was crying in a cradle, and Luke was nowhere to be seen.

_Maybe this wasn't the best book to read._

Lorelai laid her head back down on the pillow, trying to not focus on anything, trying to drift away. However, her mind had a mind of its own, unfortunately, and the images just continued getting worse. Now in it Nicole was pregnant, but not the blubbery kind of pregnant like her and Sookie. No, just like Sherry, Nicole didn't even show unless you saw her sideways. Luke was sitting next to her in the diner, feeding her... broccoli of all things. If Lorelai hadn't felt her stomach churning right then, she could've sworn this was just a result of her falling asleep.

The ache had just become worse. Her stomach was now cramping up, possibly reacting to the stale Chinese food, plus now, due to not having eaten for hours, she was hungry again. She glanced sideways at her alarm clock. It said four am. For the past five hours she'd failed every attempt to fall asleep. Giving up, she got dressed and went downstairs. The kitchen was empty of everything, except coffee, but as she was trying to fall asleep, not stay awake, coffee was out of the question. The market wouldn't open for another two hours, but maybe if Luke was up for early deliveries he would make her something. Under normal circumstances she wouldn't expect him to, but as he constantly kept reminding her to eat right for the baby's sake, she knew he wouldn't make a single objection. Of course he would probably insist on making her a salad and nix the coffee, but with the way her stomach was rumbling, she could accept those terms.

Grabbing her coat, she went outside, the cold, due to the sun not yet being up, made her go back in to get a scarf. Everything was so quiet. There were no sounds except the wind hitting the trees. The whole world, or more like, the whole of Stars Hollow, except her and hopefully Luke, was still fast asleep.

The diner was still dark when she reached it, but it wouldn't be for long since she knew he got up at a quarter to five on his regular days. Clutching her stomach a bit as it cramped up again, she sat down. A couple of minutes later she heard the bell ring as the door opened and turned her head around.

- What are you doing here, Luke asked.

- Couldn't sleep, she told him, honestly. - Plus, there's no food in my house.

Taking pity on her, Luke reached out his hand to help her up. He let go once she was inside to go behind the counter to get his pad. Lorelai took a seat on one of the stools up at the counter

- What do you want, he asked, as though she hadn't been there seven hours earlier, yelling at him.

- Pancakes, she asked.

- What kind?

- Blueberry?

- Okay, Luke nodded. - Anything else?

- Coffee, Lorelai asked, hopefully.

Luke smiled and shook his head.

- I thought you didn't like the new coffee pots, he joked.

She knew he meant it as a way of lightening the mood, but it brought back everything she had said in the heat of the moment.

- Luke, she sighed. - You have no idea how sorry I am for, well, everything I said. I guess I was just surprised with this whole Nicole thing...

She left it hanging, while gathering herself a bit. Luke seemed to understand that there was more.

- I overreacted, she continued. - I mean, the last you told me you weren't even on speaking terms with her and suddenly you're back together and... you didn't even tell me... I just panicked.

In a quiet voice she added.

- I though that maybe you didn't consider me enough of a friend to tell me.

- You're my friend, okay, Luke assured her, looking almost as though he was mad with guilt. - I probably should've mentioned it when I called, it all just happened so quickly.

Of course, now she felt even worse about the confrontation. She was about to answer when she felt the mixture of a cramp and her stomach rumbling. When she thought about it, it was almost eight hours since she ate and she hadn't slept yet. No wonder it was cramping.

- You alright, Luke asked.

- Yeah, she told him. - I just haven't eaten in the last eight hours, so I'm a bit hungry.

Nodding, Luke immediately took the lid off the pastry box and put two doughnuts on a plate in front of her. She looked at him, confused, knowing that especially in her current condition, Luke didn't exactly approve of doughnuts as a food sustenance.

- It's better than nothing, he explained, as though he knew what she was thinking. - I'll go make your pancakes.

Lorelai chuckled as she noticed how he conveniently _'forgot'_ to pour her coffee. Having gone hungry the past couple of hours, the doughnuts tasted even more heavenly than they usually did. Either that or Luke had changed suppliers without telling her. Shortly after she finished the second one, Luke came out of the kitchen carrying a plate with a couple of blueberry pancakes.

- Eat up, he told her.

Smiling, she did as told. She was halfway through her second pancake when another nasty cramp took a hold of her body, making her drop her fork. As it was followed by a sudden wet sensation, her eyes widened in realization on what was happening. Luke, having noticed the fork drop, seemed to see her panicked expression and went around the counter to come to her aid. As he saw the pool on the floor, right underneath her, his eyes too were filled with panic. Lorelai said the first best thing that came to mind.

- Sorry about the mess...

TBC


	50. Related to the Teletubbies

AN: Yes people, some of you have been teased about this chapter more than others, hopefully most of you will enjoy it. I really enjoyed writing it. It's my favorite one to write so far. I stayed up to 8am to finish this baby, cause I couldn't stop myself. Steph is a wonderful beta, who goes out of her way to help. If this fic was Lorelai, she would be Luke.

**mandeeangel** - Yes _'Love you forever'_ is a real book. I read it once to my niece and I remember thinking it had to be the most wonderful baby book there is.

**gilmorian** - Why would I ever say that it was Lorelai's fault? I think Dopey's an ass too. I very much appreciate your willingness to comment. Esp when you write this much about it. It's a joy to read. And yes it helped me update today ;)

**Cinny72** - How on earth did so many of you manage to confused my wording: 'round chapter' to become 'even chapter'?

**scubaluver** - Yup, it was the stress that was the final push.

**cywen69** - I'm very happy to hear that you liked it so much. As for comparing Lorelai to Anna, I won't deny that you've got a point and there are similarities, but there will be one major difference. Lorelai will tell Luke herself, while Anna never did. lol It was always meant to be a cliffhanger this chapter. I'm sorry you had to watch that horrible ep, I knew what was going on, so I was happy to boicot it. But the great thing about bein part of the JJ forum, so many people make such great points: 1) Lorelai saying ILY is for her to try and convincing herself 2) She's already viewing the marriage as a mistake, with the way her face fell when he called her Mrs H. I'm still not watching it, but people gave me greater perspective on the matter.

**smileyGGfan** - Sent you a message on YouTube. And you deserve that pat. My favorite part of that vid is when you used the car crash clip. It just gets to me every time and then there's the place where the music is rizing and you're useing the 'nothing makes sense without you' bit. Yeh, I always imagined she'd say something quippy and/or weird instead of the regular phrases.

**Gymtig** - lol, hoping for one as well as another is a good thing. You won't be disappointed.

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - Now that's a way to react... lol, I can't wait to see your reaction on this one.

* * *

- Sorry about the mess...

- It's okay, he replied, absently.

If their minds hadn't been so wrapped up in their panic, they would've both laughed at the hilarity of the exchange. Finally pulling himself together, Luke took her plate and put it in the sink. In terms of crisis, he'd always been a man you could count on. He turned off the lights in the kitchen and came back out. Then he bent down and tore out a piece of paper from the back of the notebook he kept track of his delivery orders.

- What are you doing, she asked.

- Taking you to the hospital, he replied, as he scribbled _'Closed for the day'_ on the note.

- Oh, Lorelai replied. - Good.

Luke walked over to the door, locked it, then taped the note up in the window. Lorelai still hadn't moved from the spot she'd been standing when her water broke. Grabbing her purse for her, he ushered her out the back way to his truck and helped her in. After making sure she was as comfortable as could be in her condition, he closed the passenger door, walked around the truck and got in himself.

They didn't speak much during the ride to the hospital. A couple of times Lorelai would crouch in pain and Luke would ask her if she was alright and that would pretty much be it. Before he knew it, Luke was helping Lorelai out of the car. Being still very early in the morning, they had to enter the night entrance of the hospital. But with Lorelai, the minute they entered the waiting room, doubling over in pain as what could only be described as a big contraction hit her, they were both ushered up to the maternity ward in no time.

As one nurse took Lorelai with her to get settled in a room, another one handed Luke some forms to fill out. Luke rolled his eyes. Of course they had to mistake them for a married couple. After trying to tell the woman that Lorelai wasn't his wife, that he in fact was married to another woman, the nurse, who had to have one foot in retirement already, had given him one hell of a look. It took him almost an hour just to explain himself and he didn't even know why he felt he had to justify himself to this woman in the first place.

- What took you so long, Lorelai asked when he finally reached the room they'd put her in.

- It's a long story, he simply replied.

- Do I look like I'm going anywhere, she asked, gesturing to the large belly in front of her. - Tell the tale, Burger Boy.

- They thought we were married, he shrugged.

- Well of course they did, Lorelai replied, rolling her eyes. - You came into the hospital at six in the morning, ushering a pregnant woman, can you blame them for making the assumption? What did they do? Give you forms to fill out?

- As a matter of fact, they did, he replied, holding up a couple of forms.

- Gimme, she demanded, holding out her hand. - I wanna see how much you could answer without me. Forget compatibility tests, hospital forms says it all.

Luke rolled his eyes and handed them over for Lorelai to peruse. Eight years of knowing her, of feeding her daily, fixing her house, hearing her every story, Luke knew enough to fill out most of it.

- Not bad, she told him, already filling in the blanks. - But you wrote the wrong name on who to contact 'in case of emergency'.

- Well, he shrugged. - I was thinking about Rory, but I thought since she's away at Yale most of the time, Sookie would be a better choice.

- I'm not talking about Rory, Lorelai told him. - I'm talking about my best friend.

- Which is, Luke asked, confused.

If there had been one thing he'd been sure he knew about Lorelai it was that her two best friends were Sookie and Rory.

- I'm looking at him, Lorelai replied, honestly.

- What?

- _You're_ my best friend, Lorelai told him. - I'm not talking out of caffeine withdrawal, although you make a really mean cup of coffee. I can always tell you things. You always say the right words to cheer me up. Whenever I need something, no matter how stupid you think it is... you always come through...

- Alright, Luke said, understanding where this was headed. - What do you want?

Lorelai was just a bit too complimentary not to want something.

- What, she asked. - What make's you think...

- What do you want, he repeated.

- Wow, you _do_ know me, she chuckled.

- I'm not getting you coffee if that's what you think, he told her straight up.

- Well, since they just put me on an ice chip diet for the day, I don't think the doctor would be too happy with you if you did.

- Okay, so what do you want?

- Well, Lorelai sighed. - I kinda forgot to bring my overnight bag. So I was wondering if you'd be nice enough to drive back to my house and get it.

- Just for a bag?

- Well, it contains a clean change of clothes, a couple of newborn outfits, a pack of diapers, soap.., she shrugged. - Everything a mother to be needs.

- And it's already packed? I don't have to search the house for anything?

- Well, Lorelai said. - I was hoping you'd also bring one of the baby books from my nightstand?

- A baby book, he asked.

- It's called _'Love you forever'_.

- So we're talking about a specific baby book, Luke more stated than asked.

- I just have this silly notion that this is to be the first book I read for the baby, Lorelai shrugged.

- So it's just the bag and the book?

- Just the bag and the book, she confirmed.

- Okay, he nodded.

- Okay?

- I'll be back soon. You'll be alright here?

- Like I said, Lorelai replied. - I'm not exactly going anywhere.

- You want me to wake Rory up while I'm there, he asked. - Or should I just leave her a note to come here when she wakes up?

- Well, you could always leave her a note, but I dunno what good it'll do when she reads it next week.

- Huh, Luke asked, confused.

- Rory decided to stay behind at Yale this weekend to catch up with school.

- Okay. But do you want me to call her? Or is it still too early?

- I think we can give her until ten before calling her, Lorelai shrugged. - It's not like she'll miss much in these first few hours anyway.

Luke nodded and turned to leave. He halfway stopped in the doorway, as he remembered that he didn't have a key.

- Here, Lorelai told him, tossing him the keys from her purse, which was sitting on her nightstand for the time being.

Luke also brought the forms she'd completed filling out with him as he left the room. He handed them over to the older nurse, who still after an hour of him explaining himself was giving him disapproving looks.

Reaching Stars Hollow, he was grateful that Babette didn't seem to be home. As he entered the house, he remembered that he'd forgotten to ask Lorelai where she'd put the bag. Any other person he'd assume it was somewhere near the front door, ready to be grabbed in a hurry, but with Lorelai it could be anywhere. Finally, after searching through every room except Rory's, he found the bag underneath what appeared to be a curtain, right next to the crib he'd helped her set up. Luckily the book was just where Lorelai said it would be, on top of the other books on her night stand. Luke took a moment to note the titles of the books in the pile. For some reason he'd always thought Lorelai would go for newer childrens books, but almost every title he saw in the pile were ones that'd been written when he was little or before. He opened up the bag and put the book on top of the things she'd already packed.

Babette still hadn't returned home and it wasn't until he drove past the diner that he knew why. There outside the diner, he spotted her, Morey, Miss Patty, Kirk, Taylor and a couple of his other regular customers, who apparently were discussing the sign he'd put up that morning. Not bothering to explain anything, he drove directly back to the hospital.

Now, close to 10 am, the regular entrance was open for business. Of course, having come and left through the night entrance, Luke got a bit disoriented while trying to maneuver his way around the hospital. Following the lines at the wall, he thought back to the time he and Lorelai had been walking those corridors when her father had been sick. As impossible as they had been to follow back then, they hadn't gotten easier now. When he finally reached the maternity ward, finding Lorelai's room had become a piece of cake.

- There you are, she exclaimed. - I've been going crazy here for like two hours. What on earth happened?

- Well, someone forgot to mention where the bag was, Luke replied.

- What are you talking about? It was right next to the crib. Anyone could've seen it.

- Not unless you expect them to have x-ray vision, Luke pointed out. - I finally found it underneath a big curtain.

- Oh, Lorelai replied, sheepishly.

Before any of them had the chance to say anymore, the door opened and a nurse in her mid-twenties walked in.

- Oh goody, Lorelai grumbled.

- Okay, Lorelai, I'm here to check on you, she said, then spotted Luke. - Oh, you must be...

- Marie, this is my friend Luke, Lorelai interrupted.

- Hello, Luke, Marie said to him.

- Luke, meet Marie, Lorelai told Luke. - She's related to the Teletubbies.

- What, Luke asked.

- You'll see, Lorelai promised him.

Of course Luke didn't get a chance to see what Lorelai meant, as Marie asked him to leave the room, while she checked on the progress. Luke borrowed Lorelai's cellphone, telling her he'd try to get a hold of Rory, as it was now nearing eleven and Rory was bound to be up by now. Luke wasn't that big of a fan of cellphones, but he'd been forced to use one a couple of times, so he knew at least how to get to the phone book where he found Rory's cell number. Unfortunately all he got was her voicemail.

He returned to the room in time to witness the nurse coaching Lorelai as she was having a contraction. Lorelai looked less than pleased.

- Okay, the girl chirped. - A little more breathing and a little less pelting.

It was then Luke noticed various ice chips lying on the floor. In the back of his mind he remembered something about Lorelai pelting the nurses with ice chips back when she was having Rory.

During the next couple of hours, Luke began to understand why Lorelai referred to Marie as she had. The girl acted as though she'd fallen straight out of a children's television show. Lorelai usually wasn't one to dislike people, but it was understandable with Marie.

It was while Marie was in the middle of coaching Lorelai through one of her more painful contractions that Luke suddenly found himself remembering his date with Nicole. They still hadn't gotten a hold of Rory. Every time he tried calling, it went straight to her voice mail. Every time he noticed Lorelai get more and more nervous about where Rory could be, though she didn't let the doctor or the annoying nurse see it. After excusing himself from the room, he once again tried Rory's number, then for the umpteenth time tried the number to her dorm. No one had answered.

He checked his watch. It was still only two o'clock. It was still early, but with the way things were going, there was a big chance he wouldn't make it back until late. Wandering down the corridor, he found a payphone where he dialed Nicole's number. It rang about three times.

- _Hello_, Nicole's voice said in the other end.

- Hi, it's me, Luke told her.

- _Hi, I've been trying to call you all day, where are you_, Nicole asked, giving him no time to respond. - _Never mind. Listen, this client I was meeting yesterday recommended this great restaurant that's just opened up and I took the liberty to make reservations for tonight. I was gonna call you about it last night, but you had early deliveries and no one answered when I tried calling the diner a few hours ago. Is everything alright?_

- Um, Luke muttered, uncomfortably, as a screaming woman, minutes away from giving birth was pushed past him. - Listen, about that. I might not make it tonight.

- _Why? What's that noise I'm hearing? Where are you exactly?_

- I'm at the hospital, Luke sighed.

- _What? Are you okay? Did something happen_, Nicole asked, her voice verging on panic.

- It's, Luke started, not knowing how to say it without upsetting Nicole. - It's Lorelai.

- _What? Did she get in an accident_, Nicole asked. - _Is she alright?_

Luke was grateful to hear that Nicole genuinely sounded concerned for Lorelai's well being. Maybe he was just blowing this thing she had against Lorelai out of porportion.

- No, Luke assured her. - Nothing like that. She just went into labor this morning, so I gave her a ride.

- _And you're at the hospital with her_, Nicole asked, her voice now carrying a hint of suspicion. - _Isn't that a bit... I don't know, beyond call of duty? I mean, it's not like it's your kid..._

She left that last bit hanging. Luke could sense she was looking for a confirmation of some kind.

- Just because I'm friends with a woman doesn't mean I'm sleeping with her, he said, defensively.

He didn't know why Nicole's words bugged him so much, but they did.

- _I'm sorry_, she told him. - _It's just weird, you know?_

Luke raised his brows at Nicole's choice of words. In his head he heard Lorelai's voice from the day before, where she had said the same thing about his getting back together with Nicole. _What a day_, he noted. First Lorelai questioned their friendship and now Nicole was questioning their relationship.

- Look, he sighed. - I have no idea how long this is gonna take. Is there any way you can, I don't know, change that reservation for tomorrow night instead?

- _I guess_, Nicole replied. - _But why do you have to stay? You brought her there, she's there. What else is there for you to do?_

- I'm the only one here, Luke explained. - I've been trying to get a hold of Rory, but her phone is off and no one's answering at her dorm. And I can't just leave her here like that, all alone.

- _What about that other friend of hers, Sookie?_

- Sookie has a newborn of her own.

- _Okay_, Nicole sighed. - _Then I guess you should stay._

- And you're okay with that, Luke asked, unconvinced.

- _She's your friend_, Nicole pointed out, empathizing on the word 'friend'. - _Stay. Besides, I'll see you tomorrow, right?_

- Yeah, Luke nodded.

- _See you then._

- Yeah, I'll see you then, Luke replied, hanging up.

No matter how much Nicole was pretending to be fine with all of it, he knew she wasn't. But it didn't matter, he wasn't about to leave his best friend's side when she needed him, especially not when she had no one else, to go on a date, even if the date was with his wife.

Knowing Lorelai probably wouldn't be happy to be left alone with that incredibly chipper nurse, he only made a quick attempt to reach Rory. Her cellphone still only directed him to her voicemail. Disappointed that he still didn't have any good news to give Lorelai on the whereabouts of her daughter, Luke returned to her room.

- Thank God, someone sane, Lorelai exclaimed when she saw him. - Ever since you left the room it's been Sesame Street Hospital in here. I swear, she did everything but burst into song. That woman belongs in a kindergarten class, not a hospital. Well, maybe a mental hospital, _strapped to a bed_!

Not before she'd said it, the door opened and Marie returned.

- Oh, Luke, she said, cheerfully, clearly being one of those people who only needed to be told a thing once to remember it for all eternity. - You're back.

- Um, yeah, he replied.

- Good, Marie told him. - By just being here you're helping create a more positive atmosphere for the baby to be born into.

Luke noticed Lorelai gesturing for him to lean closer.

- If she keeps this up, Lorelai whispered. - I might end up giving birth to Elmo.

Luke barely had time to chuckle at the comment before Marie spoke again, clearly not noticing the comment or the laugh.

- Okay, the nurse said as she checked the instrument to the left of the bed. - There's a really big contraction coming up in about a minute. Lorelai, remember your breathing exercise.

She mimicked the excersise to Lorelai for what had to be the umpteenth time, then turned to Luke.

- Luke, she said, as though she was addressing a pre-schooler. - Why don't you hold Lorelai's hand this time?

Luke almost started to laugh as he spotted Lorelai pretending to strangle Marie behind her back. It was cut short as Lorelai suddenly hissed and instinctively grabbed and squeezed his hand, hard. _Wow, what a grip!_ In addition to the sudden increase of physical strength, she managed to grip him below the four regular fingers, right above the thumb, where the hand had to be most fragile. In addition one of her nails dug into the flesh.

- _Ow_, Luke exclaimed, as a muscle cramped. - Geez, Lorelai, watch your grip.

Lorelai shot him a look that said; _'you think,_ you're _in pain!?!'_. Luke immediately shut up and only discretely rubbed out the knot that had formed in his hand, when Lorelai finally let go.

- See, Marie cheerfully said in her kindergarten voice. - That wasn't so bad, was it?

- Speak for yourself, Lorelai said, through gritted teeth, only loud enough for Luke to hear.

- Okay, the girl continued, having not heard Lorelai's comment, nor Luke's snicker at the comment. - I have to check how far along we are. You mind stepping out, Luke?

- Sure, Luke shrugged, then leaned over to Lorelai. - You want me to get some more ice chips? Maybe you can get her in the head this time.

Lorelai grinned at his comment.

- If only she didn't bounce around so much, I would have, she said defensively.

- Well, you know what they say, Luke shrugged. - Third cup's the charm.

He closed the door behind him and pulled Lorelai's cellphone out of his pocket, _again_. Wandering down the corridor towards the ice machine, he tried Rory's cell number.

- _Hi, you've reached Rory Gilmore, I can't take your call right now, but please leave a message after the beep..._

It still amazed him with how alike mother and daughter were that they also could be so different. Lorelai would never record such a direct message on her answering machine, hers was always quippy and strange. And it always put a smile on his face, also she changed it at least twice a month to keep it fresh. Rory's was informative and straight to the point, no quips.

He hung up and tried Rory's dorm again. Still no one answered. He hated this. He knew Lorelai wanted Rory to be there for the birth of her little brother or sister and with him not managing to get a hold of the girl, he knew Lorelai was getting more and more worried, only she didn't show it.

He had reached the machine and filled the plastic cup up with fresh new ice chips, then returned to the room. He knocked softly on the door, to make sure he wouldn't be walking in on something he wasn't supposed to see. Marie opened the door and greeted him with the same cheerful smile she'd had ever since they had first put Lorelai in the room.

- It won't be long now, she told him.

She left the room, probably on her way to inform the doctors. Lorelai's eyes met his.

- She's still not answering, she asked.

- Afraid not, Luke shrugged, placing the cup of ice next to her bed. - Sorry the nurse left before you could pelt her.

- She'll be back, Lorelai replied, glumly. - They always come back.

- If it'll help, you can pelt me, Luke suggested, trying to cheer her up.

- Nah, Lorelai smiled. - I think I'll rather pinch you when the next contraction comes.

As he from the past hours of having seen the nurses predict when the next contractions would come, Luke saw a big wave popping up on the monitor. Offering his arm up to her, he bit his teeth together as he prepared for whatever Lorelai had to offer. He managed not to make a single sound as Lorelai's nails dug into his flesh. When the pain ceased and Lorelai let go, he rolled up his sleeve to see a red bruise, verging on turning purple. It more looked like someone had bit him, than pinched him.

- Are you sure you don't want me to call your parents, he asked as he rolled the sleeve back down.

- Oh, I'm sure, Lorelai replied. - Last time mom was yelling at me the entire way to the delivery room. I could barely stop her from coming in with me. And dad was more caring about his feet aching than anything else.

Luke nodded, understanding.

- Do you want me to go in with you, he suddenly heard himself ask.

- What, Lorelai asked, confused.

- The delivery room, he clarified. - Would you like me to come in with you or would you rather be alone?

- You'd do that, she asked in disbelief.

- Sure, Luke shrugged. - Someone has to keep track on how many nurses you can pelt with those cubes.

Lorelai heartedly laughed.

- It won't gross you out, she asked, still a bit unsure. - We are talking about me pushing a human being out of my body.

- You won't exactly be seeing me leaning in for a better look.

- And I appreciate that, Lorelai quickly replied.

- But, you know, it's birth, Luke stated. - It's natural, right?

- Right, Lorelai nodded.

- I mean, how bad can it be?

- Okay, Lorelai replied. - But I swear to you. If you faint in there, I'm gonna give you so much crap about it.

- I'll even let you tell Miss Patty and Babette about it, Luke promised her. - How's that?

- Why are you so good to me, Lorelai sighed.

Luke was about to answer her, when he noticed the monitor registering another big contraction and he felt Lorelai grasp his arm, a little bit above the bruise he had from the last one. His arm being tender from the last time she gripped it, he didn't feel much. And as Lorelai let go, the annoying nurse returned, this time accompanied with the doctor that was going to be delivering the baby. Luke took this as his cue to step out of the room again.

- I'll just go and get some more ice, he suggested, not waiting for a reply.

Pulling out the phone, he once again called Rory's cell, of course only reaching her voice mail this time as well. Hanging up, he tried Rory's dorm again and no one answered. Knowing it was most likely only a matter of minutes until he would be following Lorelai into the delivery room. _Why did I offer to go in there?_ He called Rory's cell one more time, this time leaving a message on her voicemail.

- Rory, he said into the phone. - It's Luke. Listen, your mom's in labor. I've been trying to get a hold of you since this morning and it looks like we'll be moving to the delivery room soon, so when you get this message, just go to Hartford Memorial, you'll know where to find us.

Luke proceeded to fill up a cup with ice and brought it with him back to the room, where he was met in the doorway by Marie.

- I hear you're going to be in the delivery room, she enquired. - I'm just gonna go get you some scrubs and gloves, so you're all fitted to go.

- Okay, Luke nodded, not really knowing what else to say.

As he went over to place the new cup of ice next to the old one, he noticed it was now only half-full. He looked questionably at Lorelai.

- I hit her in the head, she announced, proudly. - Twice.

- Well done, Luke chuckled.

There was no time for more to be said as Lorelai once again grasped his arm, managing to dig her nails into _yet_ another place. Luke suspected he wouldn't regain feeling of his left arm until a couple of days later. Especially not if she was gonna keep finding new places to pinch.

- How much longer, he asked her, after she finally released her grip.

- A couple of minutes, she told him. - All that's left is suiting you up and then we're going in.

- You nervous, he asked.

- A bit, she sighed. - I mean, I've done this before, but it's still a bit... overwhelming. How about you? You nervous?

- Petrified, Luke admitted.

- You know, Lorelai told him. - If it makes you really uncomfortable, you don't have to go in with me. I mean, I've done it before on my own. I know where it's supposed to come out.

Luke smiled at her little joke, but inwardly he was angry at how this was actually the second time that Lorelai was giving birth without the father present. He might not be much in terms of a substitute, but at least Lorelai wouldn't be alone this time.

- I'm there, he said, determinedly.

Lorelai's face seemed to light up on this.

- Thank you, she told him, softly.

The door opened as the nurse returned.

- So, she chirped. - How are we doing?

Lorelai gestured for Luke to lean towards her.

- Load me up, she whispered, gesturing to the cup of ice.

When Lorelai once again grabbed his arm, as another contraction hit her. _Geez, how often do these things come?_ She sent a nice load of ice right in the direction of Marie. The first one missed her and ended up in the trash bin. The second merely hit her skirt. And the third one missed Marie, but hit the good doctor right in between the eyes as he entered the room with the bed they were going to use to transport her to the delivery room.

- Okay, he said, mildly rubbing the spot where the chip had hit him. - Lets get you off to the delivery room.

Luke offered to help move Lorelai over to the bed, but the doctor just gestured for him to let the nurse suit him up. Holding her hand, as the bed was rolled along the hallway, what else was there to do, he pushed every uncomfortable feeling he had about what he was going to witness to the back of his mind and just focused on being there for Lorelai. As they approached the delivery room, it felt as though everything was going in double speed. One minute they were leaving the room they had been in since sometime before seven in the morning, the next Lorelai was up and ready in the bed she was going to give birth in. Luke had situated himself up next to Lorelai's side, while the doctor urged Lorelai to bend her feet so her knees were up and far apart.

- Okay, the doctor said. - I know you've done this before, so all I'm gonna say is to remember to push at the next contraction.

Lorelai didn't give him any look, like she had done with the nurse. Luke figured this was because the nurse had talked down to her and the doctor hadn't.

- What should I do, Luke asked, feeling a bit out of place.

- Just hold her hand and help her focus, the doctor told him, then turned to look at the monitor. - Okay, Lorelai, it looks like we're less than a minute away from beginning.

Luke felt her clasp his hand and then he saw Lorelai's face flush as she apparently concentrated on pushing. At first it was silent, but as the push continued, the groan became more apparent. Not until the contraction was passed did she let herself fall back and relax.

- It's going well, the doctor informed, not even looking up from between Lorelai's legs. - Just keep that focus every time and this shouldn't take too long.

- How are you doing, Luke asked, Lorelai, concerned.

- To be minutes away from squeezing a melon out of a hole the size of a lemon, I'm peachy, she answered.

- Understandable, he nodded.

- Okay, the doctor said. - Here comes another one.

Lorelai grasped his hand immediately and Luke saw the determination in her mind to get this thing out. Now as she bent forward to give everything she had, Luke gently rubbed her back, encouragingly. He was in some ways grateful that the view of the event was somewhat limited, as the idea of seeing something stick out down there gave him the heebie jeebies.

As Lorelai let herself again fall backwards to get a moments rest before she had to do it over again, Luke removed the hand from her back and just rubbed her arm. If he hadn't already thought she was an amazing woman, he surely did now. Lorelai got very little rest as another contraction hit her quicker than the one before.

- Okay, I can see the head, the doctor informed them. - You're doing great, just keep focusing.

Lorelai just panted as she fell backwards. Her face was red and glowing with sweat. Just fifteen seconds later she was up again, pushing with everything she had. This time, Luke suddenly found himself verbally cheering her on.

- You're doing great. Keep pushing. You can do this.

In the seconds between this and the next contraction he saw a hint of a smile on her face before it was replaced with a determined look as she pushed yet again.

- I almost have the shoulder's, the doctor said. - If you give everything we should have this baby out by the next push.

- You hear that, Luke asked her, the excitement in his voice surprising even himself.

Lorelai didn't have time to answer as she gave everything she had, this time really crying out.

- It's a boy, the doctor announced, just as Lorelai finally collapsed backwards on the bed.

A wail pierced the immediate silence that followed the doctor's announcement and the doctor held the boy up for them to see. Luke's immediate thought was that the bundle more resembled a lump of phlegm than a living, breathing baby. Looking questionably over at Lorelai, he saw that she was in tears.

- They look better once they've been given a good cleaning, she told him, as though she knew what he had been thinking.

The doctor proceeded to put a clamp on the umbilical cord and handed Luke a pair of scissors.

- You want to do the honors, he asked him.

Luke gave the doctor a doubtful look and then turned his head to Lorelai.

- Just do it, she encouraged him, so he did.

The doctor handed the baby over to a nurse who was ready with a towel. The next couple of minutes seemed like a blur, as the baby was rubbed dry and checked out. Then the newborn baby boy was handed over to his mother. Lorelai's crying had now just been reduced to an occasional tear. She didn't seem to notice anything but the little bundle she had in her arms. And for all Luke knew, there were no more nurses or doctors, just a mother and her son.

Just as Lorelai had said, the baby now resembled an actual baby and as cliché it sounded, for Luke he was just the most beautiful baby boy in the world. No, scratch that, he was the most beautiful baby, period.

- Hey there, Lorelai whispered to her son. - Welcome to the world... William.

Luke thought his heart was about to stop as he heard the name leave her mouth. His father's name. But as he had heard the story behind Rory's name, he wasn't all that surprised. Lorelai seemed to just take a name that popped into her mind and Luke did remember having mentioned his father a lot to her lately.

- He's named after a great man, Luke told her, almost choking up from the emotions surging through him.

It amazed him that he could feel so much for someone else's child like that. Him, Luke Danes, the man who always thought kids equaled jam-hands. He was quickly falling for this little guy who had only been out in the world for about fifteen minutes.

- You wanna hold him, Lorelai asked.

Before he had a chance to even answer, she was handing him her precious baby.

- Watch the head, she told him.

And there he was, holding this little creature who already seemed to have him wrapped around his little finger. William was quiet, his eyes looking just as drowsy as Lorelai's. Luke didn't blame her, with her not sleeping the night before and it already being late afternoon. With only having eaten a couple of pancakes and doughnuts and having no coffee in her body, Luke was amazed that Lorelai managed to stay awake throughout the birth.

With Lorelai closing her eyes, her arm dropping, as she immediately fell asleep, Luke turned his gaze back to the infant in his arms. While Luke had watched his mother falling asleep, William had found Luke's index finger and squeezed it tight.

Luke didn't even stand a chance.

TBC

AN: Yes, before you say it, I know I'm unoriginal with the name, but honestly, what other name can LL's son have?


	51. You had sex!

AN: WOW, I'm stunned. I got as many reviews on this chapter as I got for another series total and that, my friends, amazes me. Now, I'm working on some schoolwork, but I should still have time to write an update, but just so you're warned, I might not have time to do the same update-o-rama as I did this week. Steph is always an amazing beta!

AN2: Comment on 7x07 (No, I didn't see it). Before this ep was aired I was in a bad moon. After, I'm actually laughing like crazy. Why? 1) Because The BB's who just had their dream come true, rather wanna talk about killing off Dopey than their happiness about the Lorpey marriage. 2) Us JJ's have gotten so much more mocking material, Lorelai having to convince herself that she loves him, the 2 minute wedding night, the wedding not even being legal (tought luck, DR) and best of all: Lorelai's face falling when her "husband" adressed her as Mrs. Oh yeah, that's one happy bride :P

**rollsdownhill** - 1) No, I never said that Lorelai would tell Luke before the birth. That's what 90 of my readers assumed I would. 2) Just like Rory first believed Alex to be the dad, Luke believes it's the guy Lorelai dated that he never met.

**smileyGGfan** - Of course Luke was there, it's an important part of his son's life, to enter this world. I wouldn't deny a father the privilege to experience that unless he was an ass, which Luke definitely isn't. Again, all I can say is that Luke's reaction will be natural.

**cywen69** - lol, you know, with the past reviews, hearing this just means more coming from you, you know. And I'm glad the birth was done satisfactory. I chose Luke's POV for more than one reason, but one was that with never having experienced birth myself, I can't justify writing how it feels like, but I can more suggest how it could be experienced from an outsider's point of view. William has no middle name and until the big revelation the last name with be Gilmore, however, a name change will always be possible, so no need to fret.

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - Actually I didn't find Luke hard to write at all. The chapter just kinda flowed when I wrote it. Explanation for Rory's absence is coming here. Emily's reaction will come up in one of the next couple of chapters, not saying which ;) I've never even heard of the shows you mentioned.

**Alyssa1120** - The story is developing, I have very specific goals. I know when Luke's to find out and why. Hopefully you'll see what I mean, as you read on.

**bianca89** - I thought the vow was to not review until Nicole was out of the picture :P

**Ace5203** - Loving your exaggerations, Ace, as always :P

**Corinna** - I think maybe they cut your review short again, but I'm not sure. My suggestion, do like I do, save the text in a txt-file until you don't need it anymore and then just delete the file. As mentioned in another shoutout, the Rory-mystery is revealed in this chapter.

* * *

It was nearing nine when Jess dropped her off at her dorm. The whole day had been somewhat surreal. Waking up in his bed like that, not really knowing where she was until she noticed the arm that was lazily draped over her stomach, the light fighting its way through the thick, heavy curtains showing trails of the scattered clothing, her eyes finally landing on her copy of _'Thinking Strategically: The Competitive Edge in Business, Politics, and Everyday Life'_. Of course, she just couldn't go anywhere these days without some sort of textbook following her.

Lately, with the weather turning colder and Janet more and more often exercising inside than outside, leading to all sorts of fights between her and Paris, Rory had begun doing her studying more often over at Jess'. They had eventually come past the distractiveness of the arrangement and gotten more accustomed with each other's presence when doing school work. Rory sometimes felt like joking that they had become one of those adjusted couples where the only thing that mattered was that they were in the same room when they did something, not necessarily that it was something they did together. She hadn't really come over to study yesterday, having just been at her grandparents for dinner, but she hadn't come over with the intent on staying over, either. That had just happened.

Waking up in her boyfriends arms after having had sex for the first time hadn't really put her mind towards studying, which was what she should've be doing that day. Instead the day had become an involuntary lazy day, snuggling in bed, repeating last night's performances a couple of times. They didn't get dressed until it was late afternoon and they were both so hungry they couldn't fight it anymore. They had taco's at Hectors and as their work moral was completely ruined for the day, they took in an early movie. Now it was the end of the night, only she didn't really want it to end. How was it possible that she'd become one of these girls who didn't seem to be able to spend a minute apart from her boyfriend?

- You wanna come in, she heard herself ask, in between kisses.

- Believe me, I want to, he responded.

- But, she asked.

- You have homework.

- Since when did you care about homework, she laughed.

- I don't, he responded. - But you do and if I come in tonight and you don't get anything done tomorrow, you'll hate me for it when your teachers give you even _more_ things to catch up with.

- When did you become the sensible one, she wondered.

- I didn't, he told her. - I just remember how frantic you were when they pushed up all your reading.

- Okay, she nodded, then pointed to her lips. - One more kiss.

Jess complied before the two disentangled themselves and Rory went in. To no surprise, really, Tanna was the only one present. Paris was home for the weekend and Janet was probably out on a run.

- Hey, the girl said. - Did you get a hold of your dad?

- My dad, Rory asked, confused.

- Yeah, Tanna replied. - Did he call? Apparently he's tried calling you all day, but I was showing my parents around New Haven, Janet had to study at the library, I don't know where Paris is.

- Paris is home for the weekend, Rory informed her. - So my dad's been calling me?

- He said your phone was off, so he left a couple of messages on your voicemail just in case. It's weird you didn't get them when you turned it on.

Remembering her phone being low on battery when she went over to Jess' it had to have turned itself off sometime during the night.

- Well, did he tell you what he wanted, Rory asked, getting impatient.

- He said that he thought you'd like to know that your baby brother was born a little before five this afternoon...

Giving little, verging on no thought about what her dad had to do with the whole thing, Rory heard her own voice in her head where she had promised Lorelai she would be there for the big day and she'd once again missed out on an important event that her mother wanted to share with her. Rory felt awful.

- He told me to tell you that everything went fine, they're both alright and that the baby's the most beautiful in the world.

The last thing caught her attention. Why would her dad say that about someone else's kid

- Did he say he was my dad, she asked.

- Actually he didn't, Tanna said, furrowing her brows. - I just assumed.

- Did he say which hospital they were at, she asked, deciding she didn't have time to get other details out of her.

- Hartford Memorial.

- Thanks, Rory said, grabbing her jacket and her purse, heading straight for her car.

She thought about stopping by Jess' to get her phone, as she remembered that she'd left it behind at his place when they went out for food, but with her not bringing her charger to even be able to check the messages and it being late already, she didn't want to waste any more time, not when she was already going to be stretching visiting hours. She just had to see her mom and apologize for missing it and make sure she wasn't worried about her.

The whole drive from New Haven to Hartford, she tried her best to formulate an apology, but none of them would cut it. Before she knew it she was pulling up in an empty parking space at the hospital. Barely allowing herself the time to lock it behind her, she left the car and went straight in. The desk was operated by only a woman in her early thirties.

- Can I help you, she asked.

- Yeah, do you think you could tell me what room Lorelai Gilmore is in, Rory asked.

- I'm sorry, the woman replied. - But visiting hours were over two hours ago. I'm gonna have to ask you to come back tomorrow.

- But, I'm her daughter, Rory pointed out.

- It's hospital policy, the woman said, apologetically.

- You don't understand. My mom just had a baby...

- Congratulations, the woman told her.

- Thanks, Rory absently said. - See, I was supposed to be there. I promised her I would be, but then my phone got turned off and I didn't get back to my dorm until an hour ago. So now I'm here and I live in _new Haven_. I just drove all the way here to see her and I can't leave until she knows how sorry I am.

- Sweetie, the woman said, sympathetically. - I wish there was something I could do, but my hands are tied. It's late, people are sleeping. Your mom is sleeping, your baby...

- Brother, Rory finished.

- Your baby brother is sleeping too.

- I'm not gonna wake her, Rory promised. - I just need to be there when she wakes up to tell her how sorry I am about everything. Please, I'll just sit in the chair. I won't make any noise, I swear.

- I'm sorry, the woman sighed.

- Please, Rory begged. - I promised her. Just like I promised her I'd be there for her graduation, but I missed it because I got on a regular bus instead of an express bus and she was so hurt. It got so late that I couldn't even make it to any part of the ceremony, I even left the gift I got her on the bus and I didn't find it again. So I can't wait until tomorrow and come back. She has to see me when she wakes up tomorrow and know how sorry I am to have hurt her again.

She was ranting, but she just couldn't find the off switch.

- Please, the woman begged her. - Calm down.

Rory was even crying now. She just couldn't help herself. She saw that it kinda freaked the woman out, but she couldn't stop. Finally the woman glanced around, then bent over the computer, typing in something. Then she got up and gestured for Rory to follow.

- Okay, I don't know why I'm doing this, she said. - But you have to promise me that you'll be discrete. Don't let anyone else see you or have them know I let you stay. Do not wake your mom, she needs her rest, but most importantly, calm down.

- Thank you, was Rory's only reply.

- You're welcome, the woman said, genuinely.

Rory gently opened the door to her mothers room, making sure she didn't make any noise. She only saw a glimpse of her mother sound asleep before she had to close the door behind her. Letting her eyes adjust to the dark, she remained by the door instead of trying to fumble her way to a chair she had no clue was. Slowly she managed to make out one in the corner on the other side of the room. Threading carefully so she didn't trip over or bump into anything, she slowly made her way towards it and sat down.

Every now and then she heard someone walk past the door and she heard vague sounds of cars pulling in and out of the parking lot, and the gentle sound of her mother's steady breathing. But except for that it was very quiet.

She didn't even realize she had fallen asleep until she woke up, feeling her muscles ache from what she determined was a very bad sleeping position. However she was too tired to move and only opened her eyes very slowly. Now, sitting up in the bed, her mother wasn't even as much as looking in her direction. Instead her gaze went downwards to the infant settled at her right breast. Not wanting to ruin the moment, Rory only silently sat up in the chair and stretched her arms over her head. However, as it always happened whenever Rory stretched, a soft groan left her throat. Lorelai broke her stare at the baby to meet Rory's eyes.

- Morning, she whispered.

- Morning, Rory replied, throatily. - How long was I asleep?

- A while at least, Lorelai answered. - I woke up and there you were.

- Mom, Rory sighed. - I'm so sorry I missed it. You have no idea.

- It's okay, Lorelai replied.

- No, Rory said, shaking her head. - It's not okay. I said I was gonna be here and I wasn't. I'm a horrible daughter.

- You're not gonna ground yourself again, are you, Lorelai asked.

Even though she still felt horrible about breaking her promise, the joke made her involuntarily smile.

- I just, she sighed. - I just wanted you to know that if I'd known...

- Hey, Lorelai shushed her. - At least I know you're alright.

If her brother hadn't been lying in her mothers arms, Rory would've flung herself into Lorelai's embrace. Instead she stayed put.

- I'm so sorry you were worried.

Remembering the other promise she had made her mom when she told her she would be at the hospital for the birth of her brother, Rory knew that she should tell her mother what happened.

- Mom, about yesterday, she sighed. - There's something I should tell you.

She noticed her mother's brows furrow slightly before her eyes suddenly widened.

- You had sex, she concluded, a little too loudly for Rory's taste. - I can't believe I didn't see it before. I must still be under the effects of the drugs, because your face just screams out afterglow.

- _Mom_, Rory cringed in the chair, staring at the door as though by looking at it she could find out if anyone was walking by at that moment.

- Okay, Lorelai sighed. - I'm gonna refrain from asking about the guy, since I know you well enough to know who it is. But as any other concerned mother I'm gonna ask you one thing and you have to answer me. Were you safe?

- Very safe, Rory promised. - The Trojan jokes, the additional _'learn from my mistakes'_ reminders, everything stuck. I promise.

- Well, that's good to know, Lorelai acknowledged. - I hate asking this, but I just want to make sure. This is something you wanted, right?

- He didn't pressure me, mom.

- Okay, Lorelai nodded. - I trust your judgment, because you have a good track record on it. But just so you know, if he changes in any way because of it, I won't even hesitate on killing him. This is not something he can get a second chance on.

- You knew this was gonna happen eventually, mom.

The baby, apparently done with eating decided to announce his presence. Lorelai's attention immediately went back to him. Grabbing an inlay that was lying on the nightstand, she covered the breast before pulling the bra back on and buttoning down her gown with her free hand, while the other supported the baby's head and body. Gently lifting him up, she placed him with his head at her shoulder, supporting his head, while gently rubbing his back up and down with the other.

That was the first time Rory had a chance to really look at her brother. She'd only ever seen newborn babies one time and that had been when her dad had shown her Gigi. But they had been so covered that she'd only really been able to make out their heads and the way the blankets bundled them up, they looked so much bigger than the little guy in front of her. She only saw the back of his head, which was covered with a tiny patch of dark hair. One of his arms were sticking out, grabbing onto the hospital gown. It was so tiny it was difficult for Rory to fathom.

He seemed to want to try to lift his head from his mother's shoulder, but Rory could clearly see that he wasn't strong enough to lift it much and it always fell back down onto the shoulder again. As he fell with his face facing sidewards, Rory caught a glimpse of what could only be a surprised expression, as though he didn't know his head was gonna fall down again.

- You wanna hold him, Lorelai asked.

The question kinda caught her by surprise. The thought of holding her baby brother terrified her in a way. He was just so tiny and fragile and in her mind she could only envision herself dropping him or do something else that would equally hurt him.

- It's okay, Lorelai told her, as though she'd read her mind. - You won't drop him.

- How can you be so sure that was what I was thinking?

- Because that's what everyone thinks when they have to hold a newborn for the first time, Lorelai shrugged. - I was terrified of holding you when you were born.

- I just keep seeing myself dropping him, Rory told her.

- Just wait until he's lying on the floor, then you're gonna see yourself stepping on him.

- Okay. Not helping.

Lorelai chuckled.

- Just hold your arms up like I'm doing, Lorelai told her, demonstrating.

Rory sighed and complied.

- Since my teleportation ability has been weakened, I strongly suggest you come over here before you do that.

Rory did as told and before she knew it she had the tiny bundle in her arms. If he'd seemed fragile when she looked at him, he surely felt it now lying in her arms.

- Watch the head, Lorelai told her and Rory made sure that she used her palm to hold the head up.

He wasn't really looking at her. His eyes didn't seem to fixate on anything, but still it seemed like he noticed her. Rory wondered if he could tell she was someone close to him or if she was like a nurse to him at this point. His mouth had found his hand and he was currently sucking on whatever part of it he could get to.

- He's adorable, Rory murmured.

- You mean that, Lorelai asked.

- Yeah, Rory nodded. - As far as brothers go I think I got a good deal.

- Good, because I was just thinking about our big Christmas tradition of mocking the ugly babies that people insists on putting on their cards and I thought that; what if I'd become one of those mothers who couldn't see if I had a hideous kid, because of all the drugs they pumped into me? What if that had been karma for all the mocking I've been doing.

- If so then I'm suffering from the same karma.

- Oh no, I have years on you on mocking. I'd perfected it by the time you came along.

- And I learned the perfected mocking instead of one I'd have to spend years to perfect.

- Aren't I a good teacher?

- The best, Rory smiled at her mother, her gaze returning to her brother. - Hey, stupid question. What's his name?

- William, Lorelai answered.

- William, Rory repeated.

The name felt familiar, but it took Rory two minutes to make the connection. When she did, she felt like smacking herself in the head, only she couldn't since she was using both to hold her brother.

- You named him after Luke's dad, she asked, receiving a nod. - So you've told him, right?

- No, Lorelai sighed, her expression falling.

- Why not, Rory asked, noting the sadness in her mother's face. - I thought he was here.

- He was, Lorelai confirmed. - He even went into the delivery room with me. I didn't even ask him to, he offered.

- Then what happened?

- Nicole's back, Lorelai said.

- What, Rory asked in surprise. - Why?

- Apparently they're giving marriage another go.

- Okay, this is news to me, when did this happen?

- I don't know when it happened, but Friday was the day I found out about it.

- Friday as in the day before yesterday?

- The very one. I walked into the diner and there she was.

- And you're sure that was what she was there for, Rory asked.

- She didn't drive from New York for just a salad and a coffee.

- What did Luke say?

- Nothing until I asked him and when I did, he said they were dating again.

- So what are you gonna do about William?

- I don't know, Lorelai sighed, staring at her baby boy. - All I know is that somehow Luke has to be in his life.

As though William wanted a say in the matter, he made an 'o' shape with his mouth. He tensed up a little bit, then Rory felt his bottom half getting warmer. One didn't have to be a genius to know what that meant.

- Um, mom, she said. - I think maybe he just did his business.

Lorelai chuckled.

- You wanna try changing him?

- Me, Rory asked.

- Who else can I possibly be talking to in this room?

- Are you forgetting the fact that I've never in my life changed a diaper?

- And to think that there's only one time you can say that, Lorelai grinned.

- But I have no idea how.

- Okay, it's a diaper, not rocket science.

- I think I'd prefer the rocket science right now, Rory pouted.

- I can always do it myself, Lorelai pointed out. - But with these stitches I had a hard enough time as it was to find even a remotely comfortable sitting position.

- Okay, lets not get gross, Rory begged, not really wanting to hear about any of the after-elements of birth.

- Take it as a way to bond with your baby brother.

- Don't take this the wrong way, but that's not exactly a part of him I want to bond with.

Lorelai laughed. Sighing, Rory reluctantly opened the door to the bathroom and went over to the little changing table, keeping the door open so her mom could see her. She carefully laid her brother onto it. Everything was within reach, diapers, cloths, even the sink where she could wet the cloth. _Here goes nothing_, she thought. She unwrapped the blanket around him to reveal a simple white body underneath, which had the option to unbutton at the bottom.

- Okay, you see those two strips at the sides, Lorelai asked her. - Just release those and take the front part of the diaper down to see the damage. But remember, he's a boy, so you should hold something over it so he doesn't end up peeing on you.

- Thanks for the warning, Rory said, rolling her eyes as she opened up the front part of the diaper. - Aw geez, gross!

- It's perfectly natural, Lorelai assured her.

- It's green, Rory replied.

- It has no smell, Lorelai pointed out.

Rory shook her head in disgust. Right at that moment she failed to block the sudden beam her brother sent in her direction.

- You owe me, she told her giggling mother.

TBC


	52. You bought a bunny

AN: Whoo, what a couple of days. First I wanna point out the bad day that was Nov 14th, seriously if the elopement wasn't bad enough my one year old niece had to catch phnemonia that very day (her birthday, I might add). She's doing better though, so that's good, but damn you Dopey! Better news is that finally I can start looking into getting a new computer cause mom and dad offered to lend me the money since I need a new one! Also I finished my last assignment and now I only have to worry about exams... lol. Kudos to Steph for the beta!

**smileyGGfan** - Yup, DR is dragging the show to hell in a handbasket. He has a lot to make up for. I find it so funny that some LC fans are actually gonna stop watching cause they just know things are gonna go to hell. I can't believe they manage to believe the delucion, but I guess that's what wish-thinking does to you... lol. The alternations in Rory's storyline comes from me trying to steer her on a different path. Sure I favor Jess amongst the guys because of who he becomes, so that's part of the reason why I went for that opportunity, but more important is that I don't like who Rory became after season 4. And especially not how that ruined a lot of what her and Lorelai despite everything had managed to have for almost twenty years. I'm repeating myself in saying this, but it should be said. I won't be focusing on the Rory storyline that much. The good, bad and inbetween regarding Rory and Rory's life will mostly be brought to attention when it's of significanse for Lorelai's story.

**gilmorian** - I'm happy to hear that my writing style has this effect on you... lol. Yes, I agree with you on Rory, she didn't really stir much interesst in me like Lorelai did. Rory only interesst me when it has something to do with Lorelai. I'm glad you like my describing William. It helps to have some fresh memories of baby behavior in my life, it helps me visualize him more, which makes it easier to describe him. Regarding Dopey, yes it bugs me as well when people try to pin the fault of his lack of envolvement on Lorelai. I mean, she always held the door open to him, I'd say a bit too open since it allowed him to hurt his kid so much, if I'm to pin anything on Lorelai it would be that she gave him too much access to his daughter, not too little. As for your question about Emily, it will be answered soon enough so stay tuned. I honestly love it that you give me such lengthy reviews. Your writing reviews is like me writing dialogue. The characters yap so much in my head I have to find ways to distract or end the conversation just to get finished.

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - Well, it isn't Rory's or anyone's fault that she missed out on her brother's birth. That was what I tried to point out. There was no way of getting in touch with her and she had no idea that anyone was trying to call her before it was too late. And the 'having sex' thing really is about time in my opinion. She was contemplating sleeping with Jess before Summer and we're almost closing in on Christmas time and they've had a good couple of months now. It's only natural that it happened when it did.

**cywen69** - I'm glad that you managed to enjoy the Luke-less chapter. As for Luke not calling Jess, when did I say Jess had a phone? Sure, Luke could always call the phone in the bookstore underneath the apartment, but to remember that number in the heat of the moment when he's barely spoken with his nephew since he moved there... At least I would have trouble remembering it.

* * *

It felt like one of those mornings where the alarm clock would ring and you could've sworn you went to bed just five minutes ago. As far as Lorelai knew, that could've easily been the case. After Rory had left the night before, with visiting hours ended promptly at eight o'clock even for close family, Lorelai had rolled Williams bed up to the side of her own, so that she could easily watch over him as he slept soundly on his back, his head tilted sideways towards her and his arms stretched out above his head. There wasn't much else to do in her room, but even if she had a world of choices, she would still pick watching her sons chest rise and fall in a gentle rhythm and really take in the fact that she once again was a mommy to someone so fragile and innocent as he was.

She really wasn't sure how long it was until she herself fell asleep while watching him, but eventually she'd been woken up by her son's hungry cry. She'd been tempted to keep him close to her even after he'd been fed, burped and changed... and he'd fallen asleep already at the changing table. However, despite there having been almost two decades since the last time, she knew that if she let herself fall for the temptation of watching him instead of sleeping when he slept, she wouldn't be able to function normally and she now had a little one who depended on that.

So she had carefully moved him back to his bed and then crawled into her own, falling asleep before her head even hit the pillow. It couldn't have been more than a couple of hours, four at the most since then and she was feeling far from rested. But she was a mother now, of course she already was one, but Rory could feed and change herself now, William would be unable to do so in these next couple of years.

She slowly, due to her stitches being pulled, got out of the bed and peered down at her crying son. His cheeks were flustered, his eyes were squeezed shut and he was using his lungs to the full capacity, but still she felt as though she couldn't've been given a more beautiful sight.

- Hey, she whispered, placing one hand under his head and the other on his back and bottom, lifting him up to her shoulder. - Shh, baby, mommy's here.

The gesture reduced his crying slightly, but not completely. He clearly had become very hungry by now. She gently sat back down on the bed, arching her right arm up to support his head as well as his body, freeing her left to pile up the pillows so they'd support her back as well as her arm, which would ensure her not to tire her arm while nursing him. Then she gently arched her body up towards the pillow. William had started trying to suck on her shoulder. When she finally held him up to her breast, he was so frustrated, it took him a couple of minutes until he latched on.

It wasn't until she was in the middle of changing her son, that there was a knock on the door and a nurse came in with breakfast. Luckily Lorelai hadn't seen Marie since right before heading into the delivery room and she was glad. Just the idea of seeing that annoying girl again made her very uncomfortable. This one Lorelai would guess to possibly be in her early thirties. She was averagely built, had short brown hair and a slightly chubby face. Lorelai had only seen her a couple of times when she came bearing food, or more accurately the hospital's attempt on food. It wasn't really that bad, Lorelai supposed, but being used to eating take-out and Luke's cuisine, the food simply couldn't measure up.

- You alright there, the nurse asked, gesturing to the baby on the changing table.

Lorelai still didn't know her name.

- Everything's still where I remembered it was, she quipped, just as William sent out a beam, hitting her right below her right shoulder. - ...except that.

The woman chuckled, as Lorelai dried the pee off with a cloth.

- Yeah, she agreed. - Boys tend to surprise you with that.

- You have a boy yourself, Lorelai asked.

- No, the nurse replied, shaking her head. - I don't have kids myself, but I have a nephew and I've been hit at least ten times. You know how it goes. The minute you're visiting, you're automatically on diaper duty.

- I wouldn't know, Lorelai shrugged. - I'm an only child.

- Oh, the nurse said. - I thought maybe the girl here yesterday was your sister or something.

- Oh, no, Lorelai laughed. - That was my daughter, Rory.

- Your daughter, the woman asked, surprised. - But didn't you say she was in college?

- Yeah, Lorelai said, proudly. - She's a freshman at Yale.

- Really, the nurse asked, surprised. - I don't mean to sound rude, but you just don't look old enough to have a daughter in college. Is she a prodigy?

- Rory's freakishly smart, but no, she's not pulling a Doogie Howser. I was just really young when I had her.

As Lorelai had finished putting on the clean diaper, she gently picked her baby up and rested him at her chest, kissing the top of his head. William responded by grabbing onto whatever he could, which was the neck of her hospital gown.

- I have the get going, the nurse said, obviously feeling as though she was intruding.

- Okay, Lorelai murmured absently.

It didn't really take long until William had fallen asleep. Lorelai wanted to continue carrying him around, but her stomach was objecting by rumbling loudly. Giving in, she gently placed him back in his bed, kissing his forehead. Breakfast wasn't anything big, just toast, one with ham and one with jam. _Hey, that rhymed._ And of course there was no coffee, only juice.

Checking on her sleeping baby, who was still sleeping soundly, head turned sideways and both his hands up, she grabbed her overnight bag and went into the bathroom. Not wanting to leave her baby for longer than she had to, she did a quick freshening up and changed out of her hospital gown and into a black pair of pants and the large t-shirt Rory had bought her from the hospital gift shop before leaving that said _'It's a boy'_. Even with the pregnancy weight she still was carrying, the shirt was big and comfy. She didn't even want to look at the tag to see what the actual size of the thing was.

William woke around lunch time, then again a little into the afternoon. Lorelai has just finished feeding him and was trying to burp him, when there was a knock on the door.

- Coast is clear, she called out, her voice low enough so not to hurt William's ears.

She realized no one had heard her and with the current commotion she heard on the other side of the door why that was. Continuing to rub Williams back to help him burp, she got off the bed and walked over to the door. Freeing one hand, she opened it and found Luke on the other side.

- Luke, she said, her voice mixed with surprise and happiness.

- Hey, he said, seeing William resting on her shoulder. - Is this a bad time?

- No, she shook her head. - No, it's not a bad time. Come in.

Luke only reluctantly followed her in. Lorelai sat down on the bed, wincing as she realized she'd done this too quickly.

- You alright, Luke asked, concerned.

- It's nothing, she promised. - I'm still a bit sore. That's all.

Truth be told it was more than _a bit_, but with everything Luke had seen, she just didn't want to give him any more gory details.

- Well, Luke shrugged. - I guess that's to be expected.

- It's all part of the package, she nodded.

Just then William let out a pretty big burp, which brought an even bigger smile to Lorelai's face. She noticed the bag Luke had just placed next to the chair he was sitting in.

- What's in the bag, she asked.

- Gifts, he told her truthfully.

This caught her immediate attention.

- From who, she asked.

- Well, Jackson brought one from him and Sookie last night. He wanted me to tell you that they wanted to come, but they didn't want to take Davey out yet. And just before I left today, Lane came in with another one.

- Really? How did they know you were coming here?

Luke shifted uncomfortably in the chair.

- Miss Patty, he replied.

- Who told Miss Patty, she asked, confused.

It always impressed her how fast news traveled in that town of hers, but she couldn't really figure how the woman had found out or how anyone of them knew Luke would be coming over. Not even Lorelai knew that.

- She'd seen the sign I put up in my diner and I guess they noticed that you weren't anywhere to be found. Then when she spotted me coming out of the toy store, she simply cornered me and asked me 'boy or girl'.

- What were you doing at a toy store, Lorelai asked him.

He gestured to the bag next to the chair.

- Check the bag, he simply replied.

She got up and walked over to him.

- Hold out your arms, she ordered, gently moving William from her shoulder and placed him in Luke's arms.

Grabbing the bag, she gently seated herself on the edge of it and opened it, only to reveal three wrapped packages, instead of the two Luke had mentioned.

- The third one's from me, Luke said, as if she hadn't already figured that out.

- You bought a gift, she grinned.

- Just a little thing, he shrugged. - If I'd let them, the whole town would've sent presents, but I told them I wasn't a delivery service. Either they bring it to you yourself here or they give it to you when you get home. Don't be surprised if you end up getting a lot of visitors.

Lorelai laughed. She grabbed the first present she saw.

- Whose this, she asked.

- That one's from Sookie and Jackson, he told her.

Lorelai quickly unwrapped it. She wasn't one to take her time and enjoy the wait. It took just ten seconds to remove the paper and see the light blue newborn outfit with the words _'Mama's boy'_ stamped on the front.

- Awww, she cooed, holding it up for Luke and William to see. - Look at this. William, look at this.

Of course with William being just two days old, he didn't react at all. Instead he was snoozing gently in his unknowing father's arms. Lorelai reached into the bag and grabbed the second gift.

- That's Lane's, Luke informed her.

Inside was baby record book with blue covers, blue of course, for a boy. She opened it and looked through it. A couple of pages regarding the baby in general, the birth and as she turned the coming pages there were some pages to fill out one all the 'first' moments, such as first smile, first laugh, first word, first step.., then following were pages to fill out as the baby got older.

- Hey Luke, she said. - Do you have a pen?

- No, he replied.

- Come on, she begged. - Hand it over.

- Why would I be carrying a pen with me, he asked.

- What about the one you take orders with?

- Haven't we had this conversation before? What do you need a pen for?

- I wanted to write in this, she replied, holding the book up.

- Can't it wait, he asked.

- I guess, she sighed. - But I really wanted to get started.

She put the book aside on the table and pulled the last gift out of the bag, quickly folding the bag up. Out of the three gifts it was the smallest, but also the softest, Lorelai determined. Like with the previous two, the wrapping paper basically flew off and Lorelai was left in awe when she saw the content.

- The girl at the toy store helped me find it, Luke told her.

- Luke, she said, hoarsely, emotions surging through every fiber of her body. - How did you know?

Luke looked at her, confused.

- Know what, he asked. - It's just a stuffed animal.

- It's a blue _bunny_, Lorelai corrected.

- I thought it looked cute, Luke shrugged. - But I still don't get what's so special about it.

- Luke, she said. - My favorite thing when I was growing up was this little pink bunny my aunt Hopie gave me right after I was born.

- Really, he asked.

- Really, she nodded. - I brought Rosie everywhere with me. I wouldn't leave her out of my sight for even a second. They couldn't get me to go to sleep without her. She was my best friend. Mom couldn't get me to sleep if Rosie wasn't there. She hated Rosie.

- Your mom hated a toy, Luke asked, confused.

- With passion, Lorelai added. - Part of it could be because I loved Rosie more than any of the expensive things her and dad bought me. But also, by the time I was three Rosie had become so shabby that I think mom was embarrassed to have me being seen in public with it. It was unheard of that kids in our circle had toys that were falling apart.

- So she took it, Luke guessed.

- She tried, Lorelai replied. - She tried replacing the bunny with a new one that looked the same. Of course she didn't understand that you couldn't just replace a toy like that and expect the kid to accept it. So she tried to conveniently lose the original one, then she tried being strict, saying that bunnies were only for little girls, but when I couldn't stop crying she finally caved and let me have her back.

- Do you still have it?

- I think, if I'm lucky it might still be somewhere at my parent's house along with all of my old baby toys, but then again, mom might've thrown it away. She always had a problem understanding how it was possible to love something so simple and shabby so much more than anything they could offer me.

- So you think he'll like it, Luke asked, gesturing to the now sleeping William in his arms.

- Are you kidding me? If he has anything of his mother in him, he'll love it.

- Ok, he said. - Good.

- In fact. We should name him?

- Him, Luke asked, confused.

- Well duh, Lorelai laughed, rolling her eyes. - He's blue, so he should have a boys name.

- You wanna name the bunny, Luke more stated than asked.

- Why not, Lorelai shrugged.

- It's a stuffed animal, Luke pointed out.

- Didn't any of your toys have names when you were a kid, Lorelai asked.

- I had a bear that I called 'bear', Luke shrugged. - I wasn't really big on the whole naming thing. Plus most of my toys weren't exactly suited to have names.

Lorelai laughed.

- I wouldn't say that, she said. - All my toys had names, from the dolls to the balls, and I swear I didn't mean to make a rhyme. Even the appliances in the house had individual names.

- Now, why is it I'm not surprised?

- We could name him after you, Lorelai suggested. - Though we should probably go with 'Lucas' to avoid confusion. Or maybe 'Lukey'.

- You're _not_ naming it 'Lukey', Luke said in horror.

- What about Lucas, Lorelai asked.

- Please don't, Luke begged.

- Then what do you suggest?

- Can't we just call it 'bunny'?

- Gee, that's creative, Lorelai deadpanned.

- It's a perfectly good name, Luke argued. - It's simple and it'll be easy for him to learn.

Lorelai bit her lip. She actually didn't hate the name 'bunny', it actually was, as Luke said simple and easy for William to learn for when he'd start speaking. In addition it was pretty, it had a nice ring to it. But she had never before been in a position where she was the one who had to give in. Did she even know how?

Luke had turned his gaze away from her and onto his sleeping son. Lorelai knew Luke didn't care about what name the bunny would end up with. Right at that moment, she knew that even if she officially named the bunny 'Luke', 'Lucas' or 'Lukey', that Luke wouldn't really care as long as William loved it. Since she'd been out of it the moment she passed her son over to Luke in the delivery room, she hadn't really had the chance to see Luke interact with William and what she saw simply amazed her. Luke, who had over and over again claimed he couldn't even stand to be around kids, was staring at William as though he thought he was the most precious thing in the world. Luke's eyes were showing fatherly love towards the son he didn't even know was his.

She knew she should open her mouth and tell him. But what would she say? _'Hey Luke, thanks for the wonderful gift, by the way you're William's dad'_?

- We can name him 'bunny', she finally said.

_Well, it's a start._

TBC


	53. Friday Night Surprise

AN: I officially hate when the review alerts are broken! It's a nuisance for both the authors and the readers... arrg. I also can't even begin on how much I hate Chris, especially with this last episode (didn't see it, but felt as though I did). How dare he give Rory's room to Gigi without having even asked her!?! I can't wait until LC goes to hell, then maybe the show can become more enjoyable. Then maybe I can even start watching again.

AN2: On a more happier note, I just ordered my new laptop, so I'm finally gonna have a good computer :D And Steph is always a wonderful beta. This time I'm also gonna send Kudos to her mom who would've fed Chris dog food if she'd been in Lorelai's current situation!

**rollsdownhill** - I love seeing the soft side of Luke, so I'm happy to finally get to really bring it out. Expect it to happen a lot. William has a big hold on him ;)

**spinningcreation** - I'm speechless. lol

**Asta-Gilmore** - Trust me, it's not your hotmail, it's the site's update alerts that aren't functioning. I'm not getting alerts when people review at the moment, either. My best tip is to check in every two or three days just to see if there are updates. Unless I get a writers block or internet problems that will most likely be my update rate.

**LorLukealways** - When I said he was gonna be a catalyst for change I didn't mean the second he was out, although he does have some effect on people already. He's still only a couple of days old, you know.

**Gymtig** - The story of 'Rosie' was inspired by my niece. She has this pink doll that we call 'Rosa', which is norwegian for 'Pink'. She loves this doll. She's had it since she was a a tiny baby (she's 3 1/2 now) and she's still very attached to her. So much that we had to sew on new fabric to keep her from falling apart. And I just try to imagine if Emily ever saw 'Rosa'... and well 'Rosie' was born from that thought.

* * *

As they had agreed on Rory picking her and William up at five thirty, one could imagine Lorelai's anxiety when the clock passed a quarter to six, then six and still there was no sign of her daughter. She was in the middle of changing the third poopy diaper of the day and was contemplating on giving her son the nickname 'poopynator', when Rory finally popped her head in the door.

- Finally, Lorelai sighed. - You were supposed to be here ages ago, what happened?

- Babette was home, Rory explained. - I was _this_ close to her seeing me take the car seat out of the jeep. If I'd been a minute later at it, then our whole plan would've been spoiled.

- I knew we should've asked Luke to do it.

- And Luke skulking around our place when everyone knows we're not home wouldn't've been suspicious, Rory pointed out, rolling her eyes. - At least I can come up with a good excuse.

It had been Lorelai's idea to persuade the hospital to move her and William's discharge to Friday afternoon in stead of Wednesday afternoon/Thursday morning as they otherwise would've done. With the whole town being aware of William having been born and Lorelai not getting a single visitor except Luke, she knew they were probably planning a big welcome home shindig in William's honor, as they had been deprived from doing so for Sookie and Davey, due to the home birth. As sweet as the thought was, Lorelai knew it would just be a bit too much for William to experience such a rush of people on his first day home, so she'd asked Luke and Rory to keep the coming home date under wraps. As a precaution, not even Sookie had been told about it. However with the town watching every move made of the diner owner and the prodigal daughter of Stars Hollow, managing such a thing was downright impossible.

That had been until Lorelai had come up with the ingenious plan of hers. Instead of going home directly from the hospital, they would instead take the route by the Gilmore Mansion for the regular Friday Night Dinner. Of course, for this to go well, Lorelai needed an appropriate attire for the night, as well as the car seat Luke had helped her install in the Jeep three weeks prior. Which had been why Rory had taken the route through Stars Hollow on her way from New Haven.

- What did you tell her, Lorelai wondered.

- That I had to pick up something for Friday Night Dinner, since it was laundry day at Yale and all the machines were full.

- Impressive, Lorelai told her daughter. - You're getting better at fibbing for each passing day.

- It wasn't a flat out lie, Rory shrugged. - I just failed to mention that I wasn't picking up something for me and that one of the machines had been washing _my_ clothes.

- Have I ever been prouder of you in my entire life, Lorelai asked.

- I should hope so, Rory laughed.

- So what did you pick out? Hand me the bag, will you?

Lorelai reached her hand out for the bag, but Rory stepped back.

- I'm gonna wait until you finish doing that, she said, gesturing to her brother on the changing table.

- Geez, you get peed on one time, Lorelai remarked, rolling her eyes.

- Hey, unlike you I don't have anything to change into, Rory pointed out, gesturing to her attire. - Besides, it wasn't just _one_ time.

- Well, I'm sorry, but the diaper falling off was your own fault for not attaching it good enough.

- I attached it fine, Rory insisted. - Besides, what about that time when you were changing him and he managed to hit me instead?

- Oh yeah, Lorelai giggled. - He does seem to have a pretty good aim.

Lorelai smiled down at her baby boy, as she picked him up.

- Do I detect some sibling rivalry, she asked him, kissing his head.

She handed him over to Rory.

- Remember, William, she said, in a mock-strict voice. - You behave now. No peeing on your big sister. You hear me?

William simply yawned in reply.

With the delays, Lorelai barely had time to change. Luckily she'd managed to grab a quick shower while William was sleeping earlier that day and with Rory already having picked out her outfit there was no clothes emergency to speak of. She was happy to see that Rory had gone with her black viscose top and a black pair of pants in stretchy material. As she finished changing, she examined her profile in the mirror. It would still be a long while until she had her figure back, but thanks to the special cut of the top and the weight loss at the birth, she did appear less fat than a week ago. That was promising.

When she came out, Rory had already dressed her sleeping brother in outerwear and carefully strapped him in the car seat and covered him with another blanket.

- I hope you were paying attention when Luke installed this thing, she said. - Or else we'll be _really_ late.

- If all fails, then we'll just call and have him instruct us over the phone.

- We're _so_ gonna be late, Rory sighed.

- Can you take the bags, Lorelai asked. - I'll carry William.

Lorelai knew very well that newborns shouldn't sit in a car seat for too long, as too much sitting before they were able to support themselves were bad for their backs, so she was glad that their first trip only would be for the ten minutes it took to drive to her parents' house. As they reached the car, Lorelai actually realized that she _had_ been paying attention when Luke installed the seat. Sure, it took about twice as much time as it took him, but they managed without having to resort to calling him. During the drive, Lorelai insisted on sitting in the back, keeping an eye on her son.

- So, Rory said. - You did remember to call grandma to tell her you were coming, right?

- Um, no, Lorelai replied, sheepishly.

- But you _did_ call and tell her you were at the hospital, right?

- Rats, I knew I forgot something, Lorelai quipped.

- _Mom_, Rory exclaimed. - How can you not have told her?

- Well, I kinda forgot about it the first couple of days with the whole 'pushing a human being out of me' bit to really think of anything else.

- You called _Sookie_, Rory pointed out.

- Well, Lorelai shrugged. - She's more fun to call.

- _Mom_, Rory exclaimed. - This is gonna be the 'why didn't you tell me you were pregnant'-dinner all over again.

- What can I say, Rory. I was happy, Lorelai sighed. - I didn't want anything to ruin it. The minute mom gets involved in anything good in my life it goes to hell in a handbasket and I didn't want that to happen yet. I just wanted a couple of days, just me and my son before all the complications in my life catch up with me.

- You know this dinner is gonna be hell, Rory asked.

- I know, Lorelai sighed, watching her baby boy sleep peacefully as they closed in on the Gilmore's neighborhood.

As Rory parked in the driveway, Lorelai leaned over and carefully unstrapped her boy from the seat and picked him up, gently so that she wouldn't wake him up. She wrapped the blanket around him, as it was pretty cold outside. The only skin that was visible was his incredibly tiny face. She rested him against her shoulder and walked up to join Rory in front of the door and rang the bell. As usual a new maid answered.

- Hey, Lorelai said. - We're the Slotski's, table for three?

- What, the maid asked, confused.

- Ignore her, Rory replied. - We're here for dinner?

- I thought there was only one coming, the maid said.

- Marjorie, Emily called out, entering the hallway. - What's taking so... long.

She stopped dead in her tracks as she spotted Lorelai and William.

- Hey mom, Lorelai smiled, sheepishly, adding the only other thing she could think of. - Surprise.

Even though she knew she was in for one hell of an evening, Lorelai couldn't help but revel in the fact that she'd temporarily stunned Emily into silence.

- Emily, Richard said, as he too entered the hallway. - What's... oh, Lorelai?

- Hey dad, Lorelai said, biting her lip. - I'd like you to meet your grandson, William.

While Richard seemed to be at a loss of words, Emily slowly started to come around again. Lorelai saw a look on her face that she couldn't remember having seen before... hurt. Suddenly, Lorelai felt nothing but shame for keeping William a secret from her parents.

- Well, Emily said, her voice emotionally unreadable. - I suppose we can't all stand here all night.

Before Lorelai could even form an apology in her head, the old Emily took charge again.

- Marjorie, she said, sternly. - Do we usually have the guests stand in the hallway for five minutes before you take their coats?

- No, ma'am, Marjorie said quietly.

- Well, then get to it, Emily barked. - And make sure to put on an extra plate for my daughter.

Lorelai shot the girl an apologetic look, as the girl bowed her head and did as told. Of course Emily would take it out on the help. She always did. Though Lorelai suspected she wouldn't be off the hook for a long time.

- Anything you need, Lorelai, Emily asked her.

- Um, well, Lorelai said, a bit surprised by the question. - William's sleeping, so I need somewhere to lay him down.

- I guess we could always see if we can find Rory's old bassinet somewhere, Emily suggested.

- No, Lorelai shook her head. - That's not necessary. If I can just have a blanket, the couch will be okay.

- Alright, Emily nodded, not giving a single objection, which surprised Lorelai.

As they reached the livingroom, Lorelai gently put William down on the blanket that Marjorie came carrying. She stripped off the outerwear and then covered him up with the baby blanket. William slept the same way he'd done in the hospital, on his back, his head turned sideways and his hands sticking up from the blanket covering him.

- A drink, Lorelai, Emily asked, already up at the drinks table. - Martini, right?

- Actually, Lorelai replied. - I'll have a club soda.

Emily gave her a questioning look.

- I'm breastfeeding, Lorelai explained.

- Alright, Emily replied. - Rory, how about you? Soda? Water?

- Soda's fine, Rory replied, politely.

Emily made the drinks and took a seat next to Rory, since Lorelai and William took up the other couch. Richard sat in the recliner next to the couch. At first they all just sipped their drinks. Lorelai saw Emily and Richard from time to time throwing a stolen glance to their sleeping grandson.

- So, Emily said, breaking the silence. - I'm guessing everything went well.

- Very well, Lorelai nodded. - My water broke around five in the morning on Saturday and, this little guy was out twelve minutes to five in the afternoon.

- So he was born six days ago, Emily noted.

- Yes, Lorelai sighed, awaiting her mother's wrath.

- But you haven't announced it in the papers yet, Emily stated. - If you had, I'm sure your father and I would've noticed.

- No, Lorelai confirmed. - With everything I just forgot.

- I thought you said it all went well.

- It did, Lorelai insisted. - Mom, you know how it is when you have a baby. Everything else just fades away.

- How convenient, Emily remarked, dryly.

- Emily, Richard begged. - Please, lets not get into this right now. What Lorelai did was wrong, and I think deep down she knows it. But aside from that, we have a grandson, now. We should be celebrating, not scolding each other.

- Well, clearly Lorelai doesn't want us to celebrate, Emily replied. - If we had gotten even a day's notice we would have a cake, some presents. Instead she just shows up with no warning, almost giving us a heart attack.

Lorelai hated when her parents talked about her as though she wasn't even present in the room. She turned her head away and tried focusing on her son instead of what her parents were saying.

- Clearly she doesn't want us to know anything about her life, Emily continued. - First she waits months to tell us she's pregnant. She evades every question regarding the father. Then she even obtains a doctors note to excuse her out of coming here.

As if fate decided to smile at her, that was the precise moment the maid chose to announce that dinner was ready. As Rory got up, she gave her mother a look that said 'I told you so' before following her grandfather and the maid towards the dining room. Lorelai bent down to give her sleeping son a kiss, before getting up, herself.

- Are you just going to leave him here, Emily asked her.

- He's perfectly safe, mom, Lorelai sighed.

- What if he wakes up?

- He'll probably wake up in about half an hour, but I'll check on him again in ten minutes, in case he wakes up sooner.

- Marjorie can do that, you know, Emily pointed out. - That way you won't have to interrupt your meal.

- Well, I want to do it, Lorelai said, stubbornly. - Besides, he'll be hungry when he wakes up, so I'd have to leave the table anyways.

- I'm sure Marjorie could give him a bottle.

- I'm breastfeeding him, Lorelai reminded her.

Lorelai wouldn't exactly call dinner pleasant, nor was it really a torture. Apparently her parents had reached a silent agreement to avoid the topic of Lorelai and William for the time being and just focus on the events in Rory's life instead. As she had told her mother she would, Lorelai got up from the table ten minutes into dinner and walked back to the livingroom to check on William. He was still sleeping soundly, his little chest rising and falling in a gentle rhythm.

The second time she went to check on him, he was still asleep, but the minute she kissed the soft patch of hair on his head, he stirred. It was closing in on fours hours since the last time he ate and Lorelai knew that he probably was very hungry, so placing one of the cushions on the edge of the couch, she gently picked her son up, placing him at her breast. Though he was still barely awake, instinct took over and he latched on. Luckily William had a very healthy appetite.

It wasn't until half an hour later that Lorelai finally returned to the dining room. The dinner and the plates, including her own had been cleared and the three of them were eating ice cream.

- You moved on to desert, Lorelai noted.

- Well, what did you expect us to do, Emily asked, not realizing William was now awake, resting his head on his mother's shoulder. - You were gone for ages.

- Yeah, well someone was hungry, Lorelai pointed out.

- If you're still hungry I can ask Marjorie to heat the dinner up for you.

- No, that's okay, Lorelai replied. - I was done. It's just that usually you wait with clearing the plates until everyone was done.

- You just said you were done, Lorelai, Emily pointed out.

- I know that, Lorelai sighed. - But you didn't know that.

- Well, when a guest leaves the table for longer than a bathroom break it's right to assume that the guest has finished.

- Most guests don't have a baby that needs feeding every four hours, Lorelai replied.

- And most guests don't show up unannounced.

- Would you rather I didn't show up tonight, Lorelai challenged. - Would you?

Suddenly Emily rose from the table and walked out. Lorelai knew where this was heading and looked between her father and Rory, who both had been wise enough to remain quiet.

- Dad, Lorelai asked. - Do you mind holding him, while I talk to mom?

Richard seemed surprised by the question, but it didn't take him more than three seconds to nod. Lorelai went over to him and gently placed William in his grandfather's arms. Richard seemed to light up at the infant in his arms. Lorelai wasn't sure if this was just general happiness about having another grandchild or if it was his always wanting to have a boy around the house. At the moment, as long as Richard took to his grandson, Lorelai didn't care if it was one reason or the other. Ever since her and Rory had given him the proper chance to have an active part in Rory's life, he'd taken it and Lorelai wasn't afraid that Richard's affection for William being a boy would take away from his affection for Rory.

- He might still have to burp, Lorelai informed her father. - So just hold him up to your shoulder and rub his back.

Kissing William on the head, she left the room. She found her mother in the kitchen, putting the leftovers from dinner into the fridge. In a way, Lorelai could see the similarities between her and her mother. Both of them, when hurt or stressed out, resorted to kitchen work to deal with it. Lorelai with washing the dishes, Emily with storing away leftovers.

- Mom, Lorelai said, receiving no reply.

Emily had by now emptied a couple of pots and pans and was currently scraping the leftovers of the plates and into the trash. Feeling the need to occupy her hands with something, Lorelai took the empty pots and pans to the sink and filled it with soap and water. She placed every clean item on the counter and didn't even notice her mother at her side until she noticed the pile of clean dishes shrinking. It was then she realized Emily had taken a towel and started drying the dishes off, putting everything away.

- I'm sorry, mom, Lorelai muttered. - It was wrong of me not to call you and I have no excuse for it.

- So have you told Christopher yet, Emily asked.

- What, Lorelai asked, surprised.

- Come on, Lorelai. I'm not an idiot. I remember how devastated you were when the two of you didn't work out and then nine months ago you rushed out of here to see his child being born. Although I do not exactly approve of going after someone else's fiancé, I can understand why.

- Mom.., Lorelai began, trying to gather her thoughts in a way that she could form a reply.

- For months I've been trying to get an answer out of you regarding your pregnancy and it's only recently I've realized why. Something happened between you and Christopher that night.

- Mom, Lorelai groaned. - Chris and I have been over since Sookie's wedding. Yes, I went to the hospital when Sherry was having Gigi, but that was because Rory asked me to. Chris was there to see his daughter being born, nothing else.

- You don't have to protect him, Lorelai.

- I'm not, Lorelai insisted. - Chris is _not_ William's father.

- Then who is, Emily asked.

Lorelai sighed, but didn't answer.

- Exactly, Emily pointed out with a smirk. - You wouldn't have had anything to hide if it was someone else.

- Fine, Lorelai exclaimed. - Believe what you want.

A little under an hour later, they were standing outside the front door, Lorelai holding William and Rory holding yet another book that her grandfather had found while perusing through his study. Neither moving an inch.

- I had to teach grandpa how to change a diaper, Rory informed her mom.

- Mom thinks Chris is the dad, Lorelai replied.

- You win.

TBC


	54. Hello! Magazine at the house

AN: A couple of announcements:  
**1)** First off, I've written a smutty one-shot that has nothing to do with this story, but it's kinda me testing out if people want to see smut or not when the opportunities start presenting themselves. So those who want smut, can check out "Lucky Number Seven" (and hopefully review) 

**2)** I am through with any more attempts at being archived at BWR. My beta (Steph, you're wonderful as always) offered to convert my one-shot to "bunny ears" to please them, but they still rejected my story (because of punctuation and my honest AN). I've decided to say to hell with them. There are several other stories, great stories that I've read, that they've also refused for no good reason. I don't need BWR. I don't even like BWR, not after I found out how they treat their prospective authors (not just me, I've heard of cases much worse than mine). I've never before encountered a more snobbish and judgemental community. Just because we are foreigners doesn't mean we can't write good stories in English. Honestly, several of us have a better grasp of the English language than many of the native English ficwriters out there. Fanfiction dot net might not be the worlds best archive, due to troubles, update alerts going bad, no spoiler check, but at least we are being treated equally.

**smileyGGfan** - You think you were miserable? I was so mad, cause I could see that there were reviews. As for LL reunion, I want it to be realistic. I want them to first lash out, be angry, completely vent, get everything out in the open and learn from their mistakes. I want them to realize what keeping things to themselves can do to both themselves and their partner. Only then can they truly be reunited stronger than ever.

**purtyinpink71121** - Although I don't like Chris at all and I find him annoying I do think he's smart enough to know when he's _not_ fathered a baby. lol

**gilmorian** - I don't think I'll manage another week with daily updates again. At least not anytime soon. I know what you mean about the show. I'm refusing to watch any scenes involving Lorpey, I download the Luke stuff through gilmorefan dot com. He at least has a wondeful storyline. I love daddy Luke.

**cywen69** - A bit mean, maybe. But out of character? Remember that she didn't tell her parents about her engagement for a long time, both times she was engaged. I am trying to keep up the show's balance with annoyance with the older Gilmore's and the sympathy. It's a difficult relationship they have with their daughter and vice versa.

**Gymtig** - Your questions are about to be answered.

**bianca89** - Don't you mean until Nicole's gone? lol. Emily simply did the math and as she has no idea about Lorelai's boyfriend at the time or what happenened between Lorelai and Luke, it's a probable conclution that she thinks of Chris.

* * *

As with most babies, William didn't really get to experience his _'coming home'_ as he was sound asleep by the time Rory pulled onto the interstate. He wasn't awake when his mother unstrapped him from his car seat and carried him in. Nor did he notice when she laid him down in the bassinet that was going to be his bed for the coming months. He didn't hear when his father came bearing fresh coffee for the two Gilmore's, caffeinated and everything. Throughout it all, William kept on sleeping, oblivious to everything around him, his hand grasped around the silky tag of the blue bunny his mother had placed beside him. 

Lorelai didn't notice him grasping the tag until the next morning when she woke up a little too early for breakfast, his, not hers. She had fed him right before going to bed, then once again when he woke her up in the middle of the night. As expected she was already exhausted and needed more sleep, but her body simply refused to let her. Glancing over at her alarm clock she knew she had half an hour, an hour tops until her son needed feeding. Knowing this was probably going to be one of the few times in the near future where she had the opportunity of freshening up before starting her day, she decided to grab it and have a quick shower, bringing the baby monitor with her into the bathroom.

Of course it was the precise moment where she had all the soap in her hair that she heard the hungry cry through the device. Taking only the time needed to quickly rinse the soap out, she was still wet underneath her bathrobe when she went to pick up her son. Shivering as the room felt extra cold against her moist skin, she crawled under the covers. She lied sideways on the bed, stroking the dark patch on her sons head as he ate.

Lorelai's plan of avoiding her fellow townies on the day of William's homecoming had backfired immensely as her house was completely without food, just as it had been the morning she'd gone into labor. As her and Rory had just been to dinner, Luke had only come bearing coffee. Also any restaurants who delivered take-out wouldn't be opening until sometime into the afternoon, as ordering take-out generally was an afternoon/evening thing to do. This and the sheer convenience of it was what had started her and Rory's pop-tart breakfast tradition for whenever they were, due to timing or some other reason, unable to get their breakfast at Luke's. The _'other reason'_ part often referred to whenever her and Luke were fighting or in some other way having a disagreement that made her temporarily unwelcome at the establishment.

Of course William wouldn't suffer for the temporary lack of food, but Lorelai would, and Rory for when she would wake up. With William grabbing her full attention, Lorelai managed to ignore her hunger as she simply couldn't take her eyes from the baby boy for even a second. Then when the clock neared ten and it was soon time for William to eat again, Lorelai simply couldn't ignore her hunger for a minute more and gently knocked on the door to her daughter's room. Rory emerged two minutes later, her eyes narrow as she was still very sleepy.

- We're hungry, Lorelai announced.

- Then grab a pop-tart or something, Rory said, breaking into a yawn.

- There's no food in this house whatsoever, Lorelai informed her daughter. - No food, no coffee, not a thing. Not even a stale pop-tart to munch on. I need you to go get breakfast.

- Give me ten minutes, Rory simply answered, closing the door again.

Lorelai was in the middle of feeding William when Rory left and was on her way downstairs after changing him when she heard the front door open.

- You come bearing food, Lorelai called out.

- Yeah, Rory replied, closing the door behind her. - Luke wanted to know why you didn't just call him instead of sending me over.

- You went to Luke's, Lorelai asked, peaking into the doorway.

- Amongst other places, Rory said, gesturing to the two Doose's bags she'd placed on the floor beside the Luke's bag. - Just so you know, your plan backfired.

- What do you mean, Lorelai only managed to ask before the door behind Rory opened again.

- My goodness, Babette exclaimed as she spotted the baby in Lorelai's arms. - Ain't he the most gorgeous thing you've ever seen?

Lorelai gave Rory an understanding nod as she needed no further explanation on what plan she was referring to or how it had backfired.

- Yes, Lorelai nodded, looking down at the squirming baby boy in her arms. - Yes, he is.

Knowing very well that not even hints as big as anvils would make Babette realize that perhaps this was not the best timing in the world for William to be introduced to the members of the Stars Hollow community, Lorelai simply stepped aside to let her nosy neighbor into the living room and followed.

- Come on, Babette said. - Don't leave me hangin'. What's his name, doll?

- Luke didn't tell you, Lorelai asked, puzzled.

- Honey, Luke ain't said squat to us about anything, not even when Patty asked him. We wouldn't even known it was a boy if Pete hadn't been at the store looking for his nephew's birthday present.

- Big Pete?

- Little Pete. His sister-in-law's kid. Anyways, if he hadn't seen the bunny...

- Bunny, Lorelai asked, pretending to be clueless.

- Oh, I'm so sorry, doll, Babette exclaimed, franticly. - I thought he already gave it to you since he was heading to the hospital and all. Oh, no, now I've ruined the surprise.

- Relax, Babette, Lorelai laughed, pointing to the bunny her son still was clutching with his tiny fist. - I'm just messing with you.

- Geez, Lorelai, Babette sighed. - Try and give me a heart attack here.

Rory, having kicked off her shoes and hung her coat up, entered the living room carrying the Luke's bag. The smell of food almost killing Lorelai, she was that hungry.

- What did you get, Lorelai asked.

- Well, since you didn't say anything specific I thought I'd get the works, Rory replied. - In bag number one we have the cheese omelet with a side of bacon and sausages, bag number two has rye toast with ham, sourdough toast with jam...

- You just ordered that to make the rhyme, Lorelai grinned.

- Anything to make you happy, Rory replied. - Bag number three was gonna be just pancakes, but Luke made some pumpkin pancakes and threw in homemade cinnamon butter with them.

- Luke made pumpkin pancakes?

- I guess all that nagging you did all those years finally paid off, Rory shrugged.

- Yes, score, Lorelai exclaimed, throwing her free hand into the air. - Now I'm only one step away from ruling the diner.

- What's the remaining step, Rory asked.

- Well, chili topped pringles on the menu, of course, Lorelai replied, then made a slight pause. - Wait, Halloween was yesterday, how'd we miss it?

- For starters we spent the entire evening at the Gilmore house, Rory pointed out.

- We got there around seven, how did we miss all the trick or treaters?

- It was closer to seven thirty, Rory corrected. - And not that many kids go trick or treating anymore.

- It's true, doll, Babette butted in. - Ever since that story about the razor blade in the apple, city folks don't let their kids out on Halloween. Especially not after dark. Taylor even tried banning it at the last town meeting.

- How am I missing all of this, Lorelai wondered out loud.

- Well, you were having a baby, Babette shrugged. - It happens.

Lorelai turned back to Rory.

- Did you get coffee, she asked.

- I'm not stupid, Rory pointed out, as she pulled out two steamy Luke's take-out cups.

- Angel, Lorelai sighed as Rory put the cup at the table in front of her.

Then the realization hit her. She couldn't exactly be drinking hot beverages while holding her son, now could she?

- Hand him over, sugar, Babette said, as though she'd read her mind.

Lorelai carefully placed her snoozy baby into the woman's open arms. William didn't object to the move. Instead he brought both his hands to his mouth and started sucking on them, his right hand still clutching the silky tag of the blue bunny. He seemed to really like the feel of the tag.

- My God, Babette exclaimed. - He's gonna be such a heartbreaker, this one.

Lorelai smiled at the comment as she took her first big gulp of coffee. Rory, having forgotten to get plates, took a quick trip to the kitchen and returned with two large dinner plates.

- Be glad we're not eating at Luke's today, she said. - The place was completely packed. Even the looser mini-table was taken.

- _No_, Lorelai said in disbelief. - That's always open, who had that one?

- I don't know, I think he might've been a tourist, Rory shrugged. - At least an out-of-towner. But that's nothing compared to the other piece of news I come bearing.

- What is it, Lorelai asked, curiously.

- Luke's hired in help.

- Really? Who is it? Anyone I know? Don't tell me it's Kirk. I don't think I'll be able to stop myself from laughing if it's Kirk.

- It's not Kirk, Rory replied. - But don't count your blessings just yet. He hired Brennon Lewis.

- Who, Lorelai asked, confused.

- Brennon, Rory responded. - I went to Jr. high with him.

- You went to Jr. High with a lot of people, Lorelai pointed out. - Doesn't mean I learned all of their names.

- He's the boy who dissected a frog, did not wash his hands, and then ate a sandwich, Rory reminded her.

- _No_, Lorelai exclaimed in disbelief. - _Ew._ Froggy? He hired _Froggy_? Luke can't possibly know about that. Did you tell him about the whole frog incident?

- No, Rory sighed. - He was just so happy and cheery. And you know how rare that is for Luke. I don't think I can get myself to bring him down like that.

- Have there been any incidents since the frog?

- Not that I can think of, but I haven't seen him in years, so who knows.

- Well, then, Lorelai shrugged. - Maybe he's changed. Anyways, Luke hired him, so we should give him a chance.

A frantic knock on the door interrupted the conversation. Lorelai opened the door to find a flushed Miss Patty gasping for air on the other side. She appeared to have just been running. She was leaning on her knees trying to catch her breath.

- Came... fast... could, she panted.

- Patty, slow down, Lorelai pleaded with the large woman. - Why were you running?

- Patty, Babette called out. - We're in here.

Despite Miss Patty looking as though she was seconds away from collapsing on the porch, she surprised Lorelai with hurrying inside the living room, almost instantly beginning to coo over baby William, who was now sleeping soundly in Babette's arms.

- What took you so long, Babette asked.

- These legs ain't made for running, Patty replied, her breathing slowly returning to normal again as she sat down. - Aww, isn't he adorable? I bet he's gonna be popular with the girls.

- That's what I've been telling Lorelai, Babette said.

- You should have him take one of my dance classes, Patty suggested. - I'd love to have more boys in them.

- He's one week old, Lorelai chuckled. - At least wait until he does more than sucking his fist before you start mapping out his dance career.

They were startled by the sudden noise of an electric guitar coming from the kitchen area, or more correctly, the garage.

- And cue the music, Lorelai quipped, as the bass joined in on the guitar.

William who had abruptly awakened by the music started to cry. Lorelai immediately turned and picked up her baby boy, holding him close to her body as she gently swung from side to side. The noise level seemed to have increased slightly and Lorelai gave her daughter a pleading look.

- I'll take care of it, Rory promised, running in direction of the garage.

William's crying had decreased slightly due to his mother's comforting touch, but it hadn't stopped. Lorelai noticed his diaper being heavy and decided to get him changed.

- Listen, she told her visitors. - I'm just gonna go and change him. I'll be right back.

- Take your time, sugar, Babette replied.

- Yeah, we can entertain ourselves, Miss Patty promised.

Lorelai continued to soothingly stroke her son's back while whispering comforting words into his ears. Halfway up the stairs the music thankfully stopped. She put her son down on the changing table and quickly removed the wet diaper. His crying had now stopped and he seemed to more fully calm down as the diaper came off and his skin was freed from the wet element. He brought his hands back up to his mouth and happily started sucking on whatever part of his fists he could manage. Lorelai smiled at the sight. As she reached for the stack of dry diapers, she heard the distinctive sound of something falling to the floor.

- _Careful_, she heard Babette exclaim.

She didn't hear what the reply was or if there even was a reply, but then Babette's voice emerged again.

- _Did you find anything_, Babette ask asked.

- _Hospital bracelet_, Miss Patty replied. - _Not much help though, it says 'baby boy Gilmore' on it._

- _Well, that makes it potentially more difficult._

- _Hey, I am always up for a challenge_, Miss Patty said. - _Are you finding anything?_

- _Yes, score_, Babette exclaimed, happily. - _A baby book. I wonder if she's started writing in it yet._

Lorelai inhaled a sharp breath and stopped moving immediately as she heard Babette say it. She began wondering if she had written _Gilmore_ or _Danes_ as William's last name. Had she even written a last name for him? It was as though her memory had been completely erased regarding the content in this book. She held her breath as she waited. It seemed to take the two women forever to open it.

- _She named him William_, Babette suddenly exclaimed.

- _My, my_, Miss Patty replied. - _Isn't that interesting?_

- _You think Luke knows?_

- _Well, he was at the hospital with her, so I'd be surprised if he didn't._

- _What do you think this means, Patty?_

- _I don't know_, Miss Patty replied. - _Last I heard he was back together with Nicole._

- _That's what I heard as well. East-side Tilly said she'd seen the two of them leave the diner on Thursday, going someplace out of town._

- _What more does it say_, Miss Patty asked.

- _She hasn't written squat about the father_, Babette replied.

Lorelai sighed in relief.

- _Surely you don't think..._

- _Nah_, Miss Patty dismissed. - _We would've known._

- _Do you think he looks like him_, Babette asked.

- _It's hard to tell_, Miss Patty answered. - _He looks like he could belong to any of her guys._

- _Yeah. She does seem to have a great taste in men._

- _Maybe she doesn't know_, Miss Patty suggested. - _Not that I'd blame her._

William started fussing on the changing table. Lorelai immediately turned her focus back to him. As she fastened the clean diaper and started redressing him, she studied her sons features. Although some babies carried very recognizable features, one really needed to compare baby pictures to see how alike he was to his parents. Lorelai owned no baby pictures of herself, so the only thing she had to compare him to were the old baby pictures she had of Rory. And she saw some similarities there. The baby blue eyes, not that it was much of a surprise, really. She knew from having looked into Luke's eyes often enough that her son's eyes would remain blue.

His nose was more pointing up, more like hers than Luke's, but his chin was broader, less pointy than hers. Same with his shoulders. And his neck was thicker than Rory's had been. At this point it was easier to spot the resemblance if one knew there was no doubt that he was Luke's. She was sure that once he got bigger he would be carrying more of his father's features than hers.

William's hands once again found his mouth and he happily curled up on the changing table sucking on whatever part of his hands he could get to. Lorelai picked him up and decided to face the music, well the gossip queens and the band, at least. Miss Patty and Babette were back on the couch, as though they had been there the whole time.

- Everything alright down here, Lorelai asked. - I thought I heard some noise.

She immediately caught the guilty looks in both women, but decided to pretend she hadn't.

- Um, yeah, Miss Patty replied. - I was going to look at those pictures of you and Rory up on the mantel and I accidentally knocked the lamp over on my way there. I'm a bit clumsy, you know.

Lorelai glanced over at the lamp that indeed was lying on the floor.

- Well, it doesn't look worse for the wear, she told the woman.

- Anyhow, Babette told her. - We really gotta get going. I promised Morey I was gonna listen to his new song.

- Right, Miss Patty said. - And I have that dance class starting up in a few minutes. But it's been great seeing you.

- Yeah, Babette agreed. - That's a real cutie you have right there.

Before Lorelai could really form a goodbye, the two women were on their way out the front door. Lorelai walked over to the window and saw both of them heading down the road, no doubt in her mind that they were heading towards _'Hello! Magazine'_ to share their findings.

TBC


	55. The Nanny and the Professor

AN: Okay, short shoutouts this time (cause any longer and I won't be able to update until this evening, so I opted for faster update). The reason this update took 4 days is I got a new laptop and had to spend a whole day transferring files. Plus I've made some prep work for coming chapters. Nothing intelligent to say, I've been up all night and I'm heading straight for class... yay. As always, thank you, Steph for your beta-work :)

**smileyGGfan** - Newborn isn't as hectic as when the baby gets older and is awake more, all I'm saying about that ;) I haven't watched the whole episode, I just watched the Luke scenes. You know, I didn't really dislike Anna before, but in this episode, I thought she was really mean and selfish and I loved how Luke stood up to her. And uncle Luke reminds me a lot of daddy Luke :) And daddy Luke was great too :)

**CaraB** - I keep re-reading review. I simply love to have some readers who actually agrees with the decisions I've made, who understands what lies behind it. I hope to continue do things to your liking ;)

**Cinny72** - Thank you for your support. My rant was more than just about me. I heard stories from some other people as well, which is what lead to me forming my opinion. But like we decided and many people have told us, we don't need that place. We are doing well enough where we are.

**cywen69** - Next one has his presence, I promise ;)

* * *

How typical wasn't it that when you craved entertainment the most that it was nowhere to be found? Lorelai had put a drowsy William in the bassinet and had taken the baby monitor with her downstairs as she wasn't remotely tired enough to go to sleep. Ten minutes later she had gone upstairs, just to check on him. She'd found him in his usual position, on his back, arms flung upwards, his head turned sideways, facing the bunny she'd placed next to him. Placing a kiss on his little head, she'd returned downstairs and resumed channel surfing.

Nothing was on. She flicked through her entire channel list over and over again, searching for that different angle that would make what seemed like dreary crap into something enjoyable. So far she simply hadn't succeeded. As much as she loved William and thoroughly enjoyed every moment she could spend with him, whether he was cooing contently or screaming at the top of his lungs, it was the quiet time when he was sleeping, which she knew she would relish once he got bigger and more demanding, that was the worst.

Of course she'd barely noticed the downtime until now, due to the constant flow of visitors. Not wanting to subject William to germs just yet, Lorelai had decided that William's first week out of the hospital was to be spent at home. This of course made it impossible for her to leave the house herself. Lane had stopped by and done a couple of favors for her, like going grocery shopping or bringing Lorelai her take-out orders from Luke's when Luke was caught up in the breakfast or dinner rush and simply couldn't leave the diner. The girl had also offered to help out with laundry, since she knew how much Lorelai hated to do it herself.

It was clear how guilty Lane felt for the whole band practice debacle that had happened last Saturday, even though she had in no way been to blame, as she hadn't even arrived when Zack, Brian and Gil had started playing. But as Lorelai couldn't manage to convince the girl that she didn't blame her one bit, they instead came to an agreement that Lorelai would pay her a couple of bucks for the favors, not nearly as much as she wanted to, but Lane was surprisingly stubborn.

Luke usually showed his face in the evenings. As Lorelai still couldn't get herself to tell the man what he deserved to know, she had made a promise to herself that he was to see his son at least once a day. More, if she could manage. Monday evening, he had come by with a bag of groceries, not knowing that Lane had already run errands for her. He had been by that day with her lunch and noticed that Lorelai had already come close to running out of a couple of food items as well as diapers, so knowing that she was unable to leave the house because of William, he'd decided to be considerate and get everything for her. Tuesday, she'd deliberately called him half an hour before closing, ordering food, knowing very well he would deliver it personally, making sure she answered the door with William in her arms. On Wednesday she '_needed his help_' putting the curtain up around William's crib, which would shield him from any bright light entering her bedroom window. And on Thursday her porch light conveniently needed changing.

Friday, he had come over bearing coffee after a dreary Friday Night Dinner. What her mother had said last week still hung over her like the sword of Damocles. She wouldn't be too surprised if Emily decided to give Chris a call. True her mother didn't have the man's phone number, but a quick call to Francine would be all she'd need. However, that day Lorelai had learned to appreciate college football and all the lunacy that followed the sport. As the main subject at the dinner table had gone towards the game and how they wanted to share the experience with Rory, who looked more like a deer caught in the headlights than a sports enthusiast, the subject of William and the identity of his father seemed to be far from her parents minds.

Of course, she didn't mention any of this to Luke. If she couldn't tell him he was William's father, what good would mentioning her mother's theory, no matter how ridiculous it was, do? No, their conversation subjects were safe ones. Lorelai talked about William, his attachment to the bunny Luke had bought him and the various crazy things her visitors had said or done. Luke talked about things that had happened at the diner. Neither one of them mentioned the rumors that were spreading around town about them, even though Lorelai knew they had reached Luke, thanks to Sookie having witnessed one of his rants about how Babette and Miss Patty ought to mind their own business instead of reading too much into everyone else's. Nicole was mentioned briefly, though only indirectly and certainly not by name. Lorelai had asked him of his Saturday plans and he'd reluctantly told her he had a date. She felt no need to ask any follow-up questions. When you were married, even when you and your wife only dated, it was a given that you only dated each other.

She peered around in the room. Strewn around her were the various presents her fellow townspeople had come bearing at their visits. Lorelai was surprised she'd managed to talk Miss Patty out of throwing a baby extravaganza for William. Instead she had ended up with more visitors in that one week than she usually got in a year, if you excluded Luke and Sookie from the list, that was. Most of the gifts were toys and clothes in all shades of blue, all sized newborn to three months. Taylor had stopped by to give her baby proofing supplies, as well as informing her there was a special running on diapers. Lorelai didn't quite see what Kirk's gift was at first, but then she realized it was a breast pump, which Kirk told her he had given her since he had heard through the grapevines (Babette, Miss Patty) that she was breastfeeding and that a breast pump would come in handy should she need someone to baby sit. Of course that was a hint.

With the TV still not showing anything of even slight interest, Lorelai was contemplating tidying up the room, when the phone rang. Almost throwing herself at it, she answered.

- Talk to me.

- _Hey mom_, Rory said.

- About time you called, Lorelai exclaimed. - How long is a football game supposed to take?

- _A while, but it didn't start until one._

- Then why the hell did they ask to meet you at nine?

- _Clearly, there's more to this game than just football. They had a bunch of stuff we had to do first._

- I'm intrigued, Lorelai replied. - What kinda stuff?

- _Is there a chance I can just say that if you'd been here you'd never run out of jokes, then move on_, Rory asked.

- Not a chance, Lorelai grinned. - I'm starved for entertainment, so start singing.

- _What? My baby brother's not being festive enough for you?_

- He's asleep, Lorelai informed her. - I put him down about half an hour ago. Since then I've been channel surfing.

- _Lemme guess, nothing?_

- Nada, zip, zilch. It was like I was watching the Witch Blair Project all over again.

- _Didn't we have fun mocking that one_, Rory asked confused.

- Witch Blair, Lorelai replied. - Not Blair Witch.

- _Right_, Rory said in realization. - _I hate it when they make such confusing titles._

- Unfortunately it's impossible to mock a parody.

- _At least we tried._

- They should build us a statue for even bothering to try.

- _I think they're saving the statue for whoever watches the whole thing._

- Hey, we watched it, Lorelai objected.

- _You fast forwarded the last 5 scenes._

- Oh, right, Lorelai chuckled.

- _So, did nothing exciting happen today_, Rory asked. - _I thought you said you and Sookie were gonna take William and Davey out today._

- Davey had a stomach ache this morning and was really crabby, Lorelai sighed. - So me and Sookie agreed to postpone it for tomorrow instead. Wanna come with?

- _I can't_, Rory replied, sadly. - _I have to study._

- But it's your brother's first outing, Lorelai pointed out. - It's a once in a lifetime experience. Why do you think we're going to the diner?

- _Because you're making sure William see's his dad as often as he can._

- Ok, true, Lorelai admitted. - But also because it's an important event that Luke can't miss.

- _You do know that telling Luke would make it a lot easier to make sure he doesn't miss things._

- I'm working on it, Lorelai sighed.

- _Expect a big fat 'told you so' when the whole thing blows up in your face_, Rory warned her.

- But we weren't talking about Luke, Lorelai replied. - We were talking about you missing out on important events in your brother's life.

- _Well, unless you want me to flunk out of college, there will be events that I'll miss._

- You won't flunk, Lorelai pointed out. - You're too smart.

- _I'm afraid smart doesn't cut it at Yale. You have to be hard working as well._

- So, do you think you'd be in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, Lorelai asked.

- _What_, Rory asked.

- Well, if you were to define yourself as 'smart' or 'hard working' which would it be?

- _Mom, you know that Hufflepuff's the leftover house, right?_

- What? I could've sworn it said they were hardworking.

- _No, the other three houses look for a specific quality, but Hufflepuff doesn't think it's important and treats everybody the same._

- Bah, Lorelai grumbled.

- _You're really bored, aren't you?_

- What makes you think that?

- _Lets just say I have an inkling. Why don't you ask someone to come over?_

- I _am_, Lorelai sighed. - I'm asking _you_.

- _If you're rooting to have me home for all of Thanksgiving weekend, then you have to let me study now_, Rory pointed out. - _Maybe if I get up to speed I can make a quick trip next weekend._

- But what about my current boredom, Lorelai asked.

- _Call Luke_, Rory suggested.

- Luke's on a date, Lorelai said, sadly.

- _Oh_, Rory said in realization. - _Are you alright? How did you find out?_

- Luke told me, Lorelai sighed. - Not intentionally. I asked him what he was doing and he let it slip that he was going out.

- _I'm really sorry_, Rory said, comforting.

- Hey, Lorelai shrugged. - It was bound to happen eventually.

It was times like these that she really hated the hormones still flowing through her body. Her eyes were already moist and she felt that her voice would crack soon if she didn't get some sort of distraction.

- _Ew_, Rory suddenly said.

- What is, Lorelai asked, confused.

- _P-Paris_, Rory stuttered.

- What? Is she doing something she shouldn't be doing?

- _More like someone_, Rory replied, disgusted. - _She's making out with..._

- Honey, Lorelai interrupted. - If all she's doing is making out with someone, then I don't see what the...

- _He's a professor_, Rory exclaimed.

- _No_, Lorelai replied, in surprise. - Paris is doing an older man?

- _Making out, mom_, Rory corrected. - _Making out._

- Yeah, for now, Lorelai pointed out.

- _Sure, traumatize me, will you?_

- How old are we talking here? Thirty-five? Forty?

- _I can't even vocalize it_, Rory said.

- He's more than twice her age?

- _Try three times her age_, Rory replied, mortified.

- You're _kidding_!

- _Wish I was._

- Sixty? The guy is _sixty_? He practically has a foot in the grave already.

- _You don't need to tell me_, Rory replied. - _I'm getting the visual, here._

- So, does he _look_ sixty, Lorelai asked.

- _Mom_, Rory exclaimed.

- I'm sorry. I don't exactly have the protocol for what to say when my daughter's roommate is necking with someone old enough to be her grandfather.

- _You could start by not listing all the euphemisms you have for kissing. It's bad enough seeing it. I don't want to hear about it as well._

- Well, then start with turning away from them.

- _I need more than that. I need a serious distraction. Or else I will just be replaying the visual._

- Kirk. Breast pump. Resumé. Nanny, Lorelai shouted out.

- _I'm torn between thanking you for the distraction and hating you for the new visual_, Rory replied.

- But it got your attention, Lorelai pointed out.

- _Yes, it did. And now I need an explanation._

- Well, you know how everyone in town, and I don't even think I'm exaggerating when I say _everyone_ has been by this week, dropping of gifts, saying hi to William?

- _Go on._

- Well, Kirk thought it'd be a great idea to give me a breast pump as a gift.

- _Why would he think that?_

- Because then, if say I wanted to get out for a couple of hours, I could get a baby sitter, Lorelai replied. - I'd just empty my goods in the bottle and be on my merry way.

- _Oy with the visual_, Rory groaned.

- Then today, he showed up with his resumé, applying for a job as a nanny.

- _It's Kirk, so I probably shouldn't ask. But why does he think you need a nanny?_

- Well, because I'm a prominent business woman.

- _Of course._

Lorelai noticed the light on the baby monitor change slightly. First she heard nothing but the crackling sound as the monitor had detected some sort of sound, but then more and more clearly she heard her son crying.

- Hon, I have to go, she told her daughter. - Your brother's awake and my bet's that he's hungry.

- _Okay_, Rory replied. - _Give him a kiss from me._

- And you study your butt off, Lorelai reminded her. - I wanna see my firstborn next weekend.

- _Will do._

If her son wasn't already crying, she would've told her kid she loved her, but then again, Rory knew that. Lorelai took the baby monitor with her and went up the stairs. Lying in the bassinet, his face red from crying, his clear blue eyes producing large droplets of tears, her son was reaching for the bunny, which had slipped from his grasp while he had been sleeping. She gently picked him up, resting his head against her shoulder, before reaching her free hand for the bunny. Though he was still crying when his hand grasped the familiar silky tag, he started to calm down. Lorelai continued stroking her son's head, swaying gently from side to side, holding the tiny bundle close to her warm body.

William's cry started to stifle and soon the only sounds she could hear were the sounds of him sucking his tiny fist. Placing a kiss on his head, she whispered.

- I love you, William.

TBC


	56. What was it I just walked in on?

AN: Before I say anything else, I wanna give a big shoutout to Steph. Hon, you're more than just a beta. Seriously evey suggestion you make, be it good, bad or inbetween, they help me keep going. You keep me at it. And I wanna thank you for that. I feel very fortunate to have someone I can lean on whenever I'm feeling blocked, uncertain or if I just need a second opinion. Also even though you claim your ideas aren't that good. Honey, you've given some really good ones and I wanna thank you for that :)

**Severien** - I'm always happy to get more readers. But if there's so many things you _want_ to review on, why aren't you doing just that? lol Opinions are always welcomed ;) I haven't even told my beta which chapter she'll tell him, so you and Luke will know in due time ;)

**smileyGGfan** - Yes, Luke does very well as both a dad and uncle and he looked very adorable with the baby in his arms. I can't wait for the day where we finally get LL's baby, they _have_ to at least give us that after all that crap. If Dopey hadn't come in at that point, we would eventually gotten pregnant Lorelai in this season, that's my theory, because they would've worked out their issues and then with Dula being born and Lane's pregnancy, it would plant the thought in their heads. DR because of ASP's ending cheated us out of getting that and it's time he makes it up to us. Lorelai wants another kid, but we all know it's not Dopey's kid she wants. As for Kirk's offer, how desperate do you think Lorelai is? lol

**Anon** - It will be far from the last chapter. I have many plans post Lorelai telling him. Seriously, this is a JJ story, but it's done true to GG, so Lorelai and Luke take time. But I just wanna say, I've produced 56 chapters in just a little over 7 months time (averaging on 3000 words per story, so we're not talking small chapters either). I think that should prove how dedicated I am to writing this.

**cywen69** - Your daughter sounds exactly like my niece. Her hand around leg of "Rosa" as well as the silky tag and the thumb of it in her mouth and she's happy :) A lot of my inspiration for William come from my two nieces and the precious moments I've had with them.

**Caffeination** - Lorelai definitely leaves the bunny in his reach. It's the first thing his daddy gave him, so she wants it to be something William will cherish. So the crying now reflects how he can't reach the soft thing he had been holding just minutes before. Later on it would more be about a specific toy. I don't really hate Jason, either. The only guy I've truly disliked seeing Lorelai with, has been Chris. The guy keeps worming his way back and it's always about Lorelai for him, he just doesn't seem to care about Rory unless it's a way to get on Lorelai's good side and that bugs me. But the thing that bothers me more than Chris, is the people who blames Lorelai for Chris' absence in the past. She's given him every chance to be there for his daughter, he's the one who never took it until the girl was old enough to manage on her own. Ok, I'll stop before my rant becomes longer than the fic. As for the Hogwarts houses. That's actually something I did. Lorelai's views repressents what I thought the first four books and Rory's is the one I got after reading book five.

* * *

It was as though Lorelai believed the word regarding William's first outing had in one way or another been leaked to the hungry gossipers of Stars Hollow, when she saw how packed the diner was. But she quickly dismissed the thought as she didn't see Miss Patty or Babette amongst them. Sookie surveyed the crowd through the window.

- Maybe we should hit Weston's instead, she suggested.

- No, Lorelai objected, a bit too quickly.

Sookie raised a brow at her.

- I haven't had breakfast yet, Lorelai explained. - Weston's only have pie and desserts and pie isn't breakfast food.

- I did _not_ just hear you say that, Sookie remarked.

Lorelai laughed as she too heard how lame her excuse was.

- I'm craving eggs, she elaborated. - Eggs sunny side up with bacon, lots of bacon and sausages on the side and _then_ pie for dessert.

- Now you're almost making _me_ hungry, the chef giggled. - And I just ate.

- Okay, now the main problem is the strollers. Leave them out here or bring them in?

- Does the top come off yours, Sookie asked.

- Unfortunately no, Lorelai sighed. - The _one_ thing I didn't think of when I picked it.

- Well, we can't just be holding them both the whole time, Sookie pointed out. - Eating will be a nightmare, not to mention how we can't drink coffee while holding them. Unless you're planning on abstaining.

- Oh no, Lorelai shook her head. - I love my kid and all, but if I didn't stop drinking coffee when I was pregnant with him, I sure as hell am not gonna do that now.

- Didn't think so, Sookie chuckled. - So I guess we're bringing them in.

- I guess we are, Lorelai shrugged. - So, one holds the door and the other pushes?

- Sounds good, Sookie nodded. - I'll take the door.

By the time both strollers had been carried in, with great help from a customer, who was leaving, the diner looked more crowded than ever. The two mother's took up one of the larger tables by the window, which had just been freed up. Luke, who had just come out of the kitchen with a couple of orders immediately spotted them.

- What's this, he asked, as he maneuvered his way over to the table.

- They're called strollers, Luke, Lorelai explained. - See, this is an ingenious invention that allows mothers to bring their kids out with them.

- I meant, what are they doing inside, Luke replied, rolling his eyes.

- They allow us to eat without worrying about accidentally spilling hot coffee on our kids, Lorelai shrugged. - Besides, Davey's still sleeping.

- They're blocking the path, Luke complained.

- Just for a couple of tables, Lorelai pointed out.

- That still means there are a couple of tables I have no way of bringing orders to.

- In what way is that my problem?

- You're the one blocking the tables, Luke replied.

- It's not my fault the diner isn't stroller friendly, Lorelai shrugged. - I think maybe it's time to rethink your table settings.

- This is a diner, Luke responded. - Its purpose is to serve food to customers, not play Chuck-E-Cheese.

- To my memory that's also the purpose of Chuck-E-Cheese, Lorelai pointed out.

- You know what I meant.

- I know, Lorelai nodded. - But things change. One of your regulars, dare I say your best customer, has a baby now and is bound to bring said baby with her wherever she goes.

- Actually, Luke smirked. - I don't really consider Sookie to be that great a customer.

Lorelai scowled at him, which made Sookie laugh.

- Would you rather I bring my kid and business somewhere else, she asked.

- Well.., Luke said, dragging the word out.

- Oh, come on, Lorelai said, picking up her bundle of a baby, holding him up towards Luke. - How can you be able to resist such a face?

She could see that Luke was trying to come up with a retort on that, but his attention was grabbed by the little guy in her arms. What Lorelai thought really sealed the deal wasn't whatever cutesy thing William was doing at that precise moment, but the fact that he was holding onto the bunny Luke had given him at the hospital, as though it was the most precious thing in the world for the little boy.

- Can you at least move to the corner table, so you're not blocking me, he asked, his voice remarkably softer, not that it had been that harsh before that.

- If that's all that it took, then why were we arguing about all this just a minute ago, Lorelai replied.

Luke rolled his eyes and turned to give the waiting customers their food. When Lorelai and Sookie were relocated at the corner table, he came back with the ordering pad and pen.

- What do you want, he asked.

- Eggs sunny side up, lots of bacon and sausages on the side, Lorelai replied at once. - Oh and lots and lots of coffee.

- And you, Luke asked Sookie, only slightly grimacing at Lorelai's choice of food.

- Just coffee, the chef replied.

- Ten minutes, he told them and turned around.

- Wait, Lorelai said, grabbing his sleeve to stop him from leaving.

Luke stopped and met her gaze.

- I changed my mind, she said. - I want a cheese omelet instead of the eggs, heavy on the cheese.

Luke rolled his eyes, then bent down so that he was at the same level as William.

- Kid, he whispered, in a serious tone. - If you have any desire to live a full life, don't let your mother influence your eating habits. Fruit and vegetables are not the enemy and coffee will kill you.

William's expression was a serious one, for a minute it looked like he was about to cry, when he instead suddenly let a big yawn out.

- I think that means he'll think about it, Lorelai said with mock seriousness. - If he had sneezed, then it would've been a complete rejection.

- He sneezed, Luke asked. - And you're bringing him here to get even more sick?

- Luke, relax, Lorelai laughed. - It was a one time sneeze. He had some dust up his nose and then he sneezed, it's normal.

- How was I supposed to know that?

- Well, you know now, Lorelai replied. - Now, where is that coffee?

- Give me a minute, Luke said, rolling his eyes.

- He sneezed, Sookie asked, as Luke went to fetch the coffee pot.

- Yesterday, Lorelai nodded. - One minute he's lying in his bassinet, contently sucking on his fists. Then all of a sudden he sneezes. Poor thing, he was so surprised, he started to cry.

- Aww, Sookie cooed, stroking William's cheeks. - Did you sneeze, sweetie? Did you?

When Luke came with the coffee a problem presented itself. Lorelai tried putting William back down in his stroller to see if he maybe was sleepy, but that didn't sit well with the baby, who didn't want to leave his mother's arms.

- Maybe we can take turns holding him, Sookie suggested.

Lorelai nodded, gently pushing her cup of coffee to the middle of the table, so that William wouldn't accidentally touch it. When Luke came bringing the food, Sookie offered to take William for her, but the boy didn't like being moved, so Lorelai had to take him back. It was when she noticed him trying to suck on her shoulder that she realized the boy was hungry.

She opened the bag attached to the stroller, fishing out the bottle she had prepared just in case and headed for the counter. Luke was in the kitchen, probably preparing another order.

- Hey Luke, she called out.

- What, he replied, still in the kitchen.

- Could you heat up this bottle for me?

He popped his head out from the kitchen.

- What, he asked.

- Bottle, she repeated, holding it up for him to see. - Could you heat it up for me?

- Why?

- Um, because William's hungry?

- No, I meant, I thought you.., Luke started. - That you were... you know...

He discretely gestured downwards, just nodding his head down.

- Breastfeeding, Lorelai asked, laughing. - It's okay, you can say it. It's not a swear word.

Luke visibly squirmed at the word.

- Yeah, he said. - That. Last I checked you didn't need a bottle to... to do that.

- Look at you blushing, Lorelai teased. - Well, normally I'd just button down and get right to it, but...

- But what, he asked, confused.

- In case you haven't noticed, this is kinda a public place, she pointed out.

- Oh, he said. - Right.

- If I'm not mistaken, just a year ago, a man pointed out that this is a diner, not a peep show, Lorelai teased.

William was starting to fuss more in her arms.

- Can you please hurry up with that bottle, she begged, adjusting their son in her arms.

- Use my place, he suggested.

- What?

Luke gestured to the curtain, which she knew led to the staircase up to his apartment.

- Use my place, he repeated. - No one but me goes up there and I promise to stay down here and knock in case there's anything I need.

- Are you sure, she asked, confused.

- Listen, I know you, he replied. - And I sure as hell know your eating habits. Soon as that kid gets old enough we're looking at pancakes, pies, burgers, fries and, God help me, coffee. At least... at least this gives him a chance to develop some good habits before you hook him on all that junk.

- You really need to learn to say the word, 'breastfeeding', Lorelai teased.

- I'll work on it, he promised, before adding. - It's unlocked.

Lorelai nodded and took William with her behind the curtain, up the stairs, to the apartment that just nine months ago, he had been conceived. It was funny to see that it was actually very much the same it had been the previous year. She tried remembering if she had been up there since the night the Poes had driven her out of her house, where she had told Luke about the dream she'd had about being pregnant with his kids. It was strange to think about that when she had told him about that, she had indeed been pregnant. Not with twins, thank God, but a son nevertheless.

As she got herself situated on the couch, placing William at her breast, she looked around the room to see if she could see any traces of Nicole's presence, just as she had done back when Luke and Rachel had been together. What had come to her attention with Rachel, was how even though the woman had been living with Luke, the only changes had been a couple of clothes-lines where she had hung her developed photos and a couple of clothing items slung over a chair. True, she hadn't seen Luke's place before Rachel, so there had always been the posibillity that he had just kept the changes Rachel had made.

The only time she had really seen there being a change made to this place, had been when Luke had expanded it to make room for Jess to live there. Which made sense. He was the closest thing the boy had to an active parent those two years he lived there and unlike a girlfriend, a kid needed his own bed and a lot more space. But what struck her as she looked around was that Luke, even though he was married now, still owned a single bed, the very same bed William had happened. Luke knew now what a single bed meant, that a man owning a single bed wasn't open to commitment. Should she take this as a sign? Or had he simply, with this back and forth business with Nicole just not gone to purchase a double, yet?

She let her gaze fall back down to her baby boy, who was eating to the big golden medal. There was something very serene to be had with nursing your son. As he was eating, his little fingers stretched out as his fist opened and closed, his little feet ever so often kicking softly against her stomach. His eyes remained closed. As she continued observing the little things with her son, she noticed less and less about the exteriors of the room. That was until the door opened. Opening her mouth to remind Luke of his promise to knock, her eyes met the eyes of a completely different person.

- N-Nicole, she stuttered, surprised.

- Lorelai, Nicole replied, just as surprised.

This had to be the most awkward moment she'd had with a person, for as long as she could remember. Nicole walked over to the kitchen counter and picked something up.

- Forgot my cell phone, Nicole explained, holding it up for Lorelai to see.

- Well, sure, Lorelai replied, lamely. - Can't work without it.

- Right, Nicole nodded. - And you're...

- Breastfeeding, Lorelai completed, suddenly realizing how embarrassing the word could be.

- I can see that, Nicole said.

- Yeah, Lorelai replied. - You have eyes, so... You're probably wondering why I'm doing _this_... _here_.

She gestured to the room, which basically was the apartment.

- Kinda, Nicole nodded.

- Well, I was here, Lorelai began. - With my son, as you can see. The diner, I mean, not up here, because why would I be up here, except for doing this, of course... So, anyway. Me and Sookie decided to do this whole first outing thing together. She brought Davey. They're still downstairs. So William got hungry and... well, Luke said it was okay.

Feeling bad for putting Luke in such an awkward position with his wife, Lorelai decided to make it seem like this whole breastfeeding thing had been her idea and not his.

- I've gotta go, Nicole replied.

- Well, yeah, sure, Lorelai nodded. - You got what you came here for.

- And then some, Nicole confirmed. - So, I'll see you.

- Yeah.

Lorelai breathed out, but it wasn't a breath of relief. It was a sigh. She had known the situation was complicated before, but it wasn't until just now that she truly had felt the full impact of the whole thing. She felt nauseous.

When William finished eating and even spit up on her shoulder, thank God for the kitchen towel she had borrowed, she quickly buttoned up her shirt, intending to go downstairs and apologize to Luke for whatever trouble she had created between him and Nicole. But as she just slightly opened the door, she heard both Luke and Nicole, arguing at the bottom of the stairs.

- _You told me nothing was going on between you two_, Nicole said.

- _And I stand by it_, Luke replied.

- _Then what was it I just walked in on_, Nicole asked. - _She's in your apartment, the front of her shirt all buttoned down._

- _She's feeding her son_, Luke pointed out. - _She didn't want to cause a peep show, so I said she could go upstairs to do it._

- _And you usually lend your apartment out to customers to breastfeed, is that it?_

- _What_, Luke asked. - _No, of course not._

- _So, what is this? First you're at the hospital with her..._

- _You said it was okay with you_, Luke pointed out.

Lorelai could hear Nicole's groan very clearly.

- _And now_, she continued. - _Just hours after I leave, she's already there._

- _We've been over this before, Nicole_, Luke replied. - _The only thing between me and Lorelai is friendship. That's all there is._

- _Well, forgive me for believing otherwise._

- _Nicole_, Luke sighed.

- _Try seeing this from my point of view_, Nicole suggested. - _How is it looking?_

- _Not so good_, Luke admitted. - _But honestly, if I was to have an affair, do you really think I would do it in broad daylight in Stars Hollow? Gossip travels faster here than in one of those tabloids they sell over at Hello! Magazine. I can't even tie my own shoe laces without the rest of the town knowing it within an hour. Everybody knows everybody's business here. You can ask anyone._

Lorelai decided to close the door and returned to the couch. She couldn't hear what they said anymore, but every now and then she could hear hints of aggravated voices. When they seemed to have stopped, she walked back to the door, only slightly opening it to hear if they were still at it. As she heard nothing, she closed the door behind her and descended down the stairs. She found Luke sitting at the bottom of them.

- Hi, she said, taking a seat next to him, William snoozing against her shoulder.

- Hi, Luke replied. - So you're done?

- Were you waiting for me?

- Yeah, Luke admitted.

- You know, you could have just come up and knocked the door, Lorelai pointed out.

- Well, he shrugged. - I figured you already had too many people poking in on you. Besides, I've only been sitting here for a couple of minutes, so...

- Listen, Luke, she sighed. - I'm really sorry.

- For what, he asked.

- Well, for this whole Nicole getting the wrong impression about the situation.

- Can't say I blame her, Luke chuckled. - God knows what I would think if the situation was reversed.

- But, you're okay?

- Yeah, he replied. - I was just waiting to see if you're okay. Nicole didn't say anything to upset you, did she?

- No, she assured him. - I wouldn't want to experience it again anytime soon, but it wasn't anything she said.

- Okay, Luke sighed in relief. - Good.

William was now soundly asleep against her shoulder.

- I better, Lorelai said, gesturing to the sleeping baby.

- Yeah, he nodded, understanding.

Lorelai began walking towards the curtain, but stopped and turned around.

- Are you and Nicole gonna be okay, she asked.

- Yeah, he nodded. - I'm just gonna give her a couple of days to cool down.

- Sounds like a good plan, she nodded, ignoring the ache she felt when she thought of the two of them together.

TBC


	57. Thanksgiving at the diner

AN: So it's now only half an hour until I've been up for 24 hours... again. But the good news is, other than you guys getting another chapter to read, that I've finished with one more exam, so now I only have one exam left to study for. Unfortunately this one requires a lot more work, but that's school for ya. Steph, as usual, you're wonderful:)

AN2: Just a little anouncement. Comfort Food just passed 100,000 hits total :) Seriously, that's amazing. My second most read story has had a little over 1,500 hits.

**Severien** - Ok, I never thought I'd find the day I would actually defend Nicole, but hey, miracles do happen... lol. Nicole's reaction was based in the shock of just finding another woman sitting in the apartment she had (unfortunately) just spent the night at. Of course the fact that Lorelai was doing something as private as breastfeeding didn't exactly help, but it had nothing to do with the act itself. Just try to imagine your reaction of you suddenly found your boyfriends best friend sitting in the middle of his living room, breastfeeding. Would your first reaction be to start up a conversation with the woman or find a plausible excuse to excuse yourself out of the room?

**smileyGGfan** - Kirk's offer was something in the fanfic. And yes, we deserve baby Danes now more than ever. I made an artwork of LL as a family with baby boy Danes: (shades-of-moonlight . com / da / ll-hope . jpg) just take out the spaces and it should work fine. lol, your alternative scenarios still cracks me up. Thanks for putting a smile on my face :P

**delen2000** - I'm partly abstaining from GG. I watch only certain scenes and avoid anything with L/C in it. The Luke storyline is good and LL is very promising now with the two of them actually talking together again and that cute moment they had with baby Doula. And I love how Lorelai is saying no to kids and no to moving to Chris. Seriously, the guy is already not taking care of his two already existing kids, he needs a third one to neglect as well?

**cywen69** - I can't really imagine Lorelai breastfeeding in the diner. She was being considerate of both of them. About Luke and Nicole I agree that it's the least she could do, but at the same time I don't find it likely that Luke would even considerate contacting her again.

* * *

After the rather awkward encounter with Nicole, Lorelai hadn't been discouraged from going to the diner. But even after hearing through the grapevines that Luke and Nicole had been spotted leaving town together for what couldn't be anything else than a date, she still felt as though she was crossing a line whenever she went to Luke's, which was ridiculous, since she had been Luke's friend for years and a customer even longer. After all, what had been the first thing Luke had done when he and Nicole first had gone out? He'd introduced the two women to each other. Nicole had known from the start that the two of them were friends, as no one introduced their dates to their customers.

When Thanksgiving began approaching, a lot of questions started forming in Lorelai's head. What were Luke's plans regarding the holiday? For one, he was married now and regular married couples usually spent these types of holidays together. But as Luke had said it, the two of them were seeing each other as though they weren't husband and wife, so where did they stand regarding holidays? Also, Luke was a man of tradition. Not necessarily the town-based traditions, as he found many of them directly ludicrous, but his own he held close to his heart. And for years now it had been a tradition for him, Lorelai, Rory and in the past two years, Jess, to celebrate Thanksgiving together, at the diner. Also Lorelai really wanted Luke to be there for their son's first Thanksgiving, not to mention, first holiday at all. But what would Nicole think of her _'husband'_, term used loosely, celebrating a major holiday with another woman? Lorelai couldn't see a single scenario that would sit well with the woman.

But when Luke, probably from having picked up on the weird vibe that had been there ever since the breastfeeding incident, asked to make sure her and Rory were still coming, Lorelai decided to let her insecurities slide and just be happy that their little tradition wasn't going to be broken just yet. With promises to stay the entire weekend, Rory came home on Wednesday afternoon. Thursday afternoon Jess, who was spending the weekend at Luke's, met up with them outside the market. With Mrs Kim's narrow view on boys, Jess in particular, they had decided it would be for the best that he didn't accompany the Gilmore's to their first dinner, much, as Lorelai noticed, to Jess relief. However, he dutifully showed up to escort his girlfriend over to Sookie's. Although Lorelai wasn't hoping for a miraculous recovery anytime soon, she had begun seeing some positive changes in the boy. His responses had become less standoffish. He was generally more involved in their conversations and not just with Rory anymore. True, they weren't even close to the tight knit trio that had been her, Rory and Dean back in the day. But the progress rate the boy had had in these last couple of months compared to the progress he'd made in the two years prior to that was impressive.

As the four of them made their way to Luke's, Jess and Rory hand in hand, Lorelai pushing William in his stroller, Lorelai was trying her best to ignore the two teens laughing, as Rory filled Jess in on the events he had missed at the Kim's.

- So clearly mom's world famous napkin maneuver has become a bit too well known, Rory finished. - I wish I could say this was the first time I saw Mrs Kim scolding her, but...

- Okay, a little less mocking, Lorelai pleaded. - And a little more help with this.

She gestured to the stroller and the door to the diner. As Rory let go of Jess' hand and went to lift the front part of the stroller, Jess opened the door to the diner for them. As they were halfway through carrying the stroller in, Luke came out from the kitchen and headed straight towards them.

- What are you doing, he asked.

- Clog dancing, of course, Lorelai replied, sarcastically. - Luke, we're bringing in the stroller.

- Don't, he told them.

- Not this again, she groaned. - How many times do we have to go through this? Listen, I'm sorry if it blocks your path, but I can't put the stroller outside.

- Just get in here, he replied, rolling his eyes.

- Okay, now you're just contradicting yourself, Lorelai pointed out. - In or out? Make up your mind.

- You and the kid can come in, the stroller stays outside.

- If I leave the stroller outside I'll have nowhere else to put William, when I'm eating, she reasoned.

- It's all taken care of, he promised.

- You didn't get a high chair, did you, she guessed. - Because, you know, until he can actually sit up by himself he shouldn't be sitting in a high chair.

- Will you just shut up and get in here, he asked her impatiently.

Lorelai rolled her eyes, but started backing out, with Rory following her. Parking the stroller at the right side of the entrance, she unhooked the bag at the front of it and handed it to Rory, who slung it over her shoulder. Then she picked her son up. As she walked back into the diner, she made new guesses on whatever Luke's solution was. Her favorite was that they took turns holding William as the others ate. But as she walked in the door and actually saw the table set up especially for them, she stopped dead in her tracks.

- You got a bouncer, she said in awe.

A high chair, she had expected. It was usual for an eating establishment like this one to have one or two of those available for parents bringing their babies. But she didn't see a high chair. The table was set up with their regular four chairs for her, Rory, Jess and Luke. Then right next to one of the four chairs was a fifth one, which was securely set with the back towards the table right next to it, a brand new baby bouncer securely tied onto it. One could say she was speechless. Very nearly, at least.

- You got a _bouncer_, she repeated, empathizing on the last word.

- It was on sale, Luke shrugged.

- Taylor held a special on Thanksgiving decorations last week, Lorelai pointed out. - I didn't see you stocking up on that.

Luke rolled his eyes.

- What were you doing over at the toy store, anyway, she asked.

- I saw the sign advertising for it when I walked by last week, he replied. - And in my head I had _your_ voice nagging about having no place to put William while you're eating yourself to an inevitable heart attack.

- Aww, you're thinking about me, Lorelai teased.

- Luke, you big softie, Rory chimed in.

- Besides, Luke shrugged, skillfully ignoring them both. - I think he'll like it. He can see more from that, than from the stroller, which only serves the purpose of blocking my path.

- Yeah, Lorelai nodded. - I think he'll like that, you know, being included.

- Also, now you can use it whenever you bring him here, Luke added.

- You're serious, she asked. - This chair is staying like this?

- You come in here every day, Luke pointed out. - Taking it on and off would be a waste of time.

- But what about when all the tables are taken?

- Then people sit at the counter.

- What if the counter's full?

- It's _one_ chair, Lorelai, Luke pointed out. - Whether or not I can seat one more person doesn't really matter.

- You hear that, William, Lorelai asked her baby boy. - You're the first person ever to get reserved seating here. How about that?

William paid his mother no attention, his head was leaning backwards in her arms, as he was trying to look at the light from the window. Lorelai laughed and went to place him in the bouncer. William alternated between focusing on sucking his fist, not yet able to single out his thumb, and bending his head so that he could look towards the light.

- Okay, this is a complete Kodak moment, Lorelai decided, gazing lovingly at the baby boy. - Rory, can you get the camera, please?

- _Again_, Rory groaned. - Mom, you've taken at least a hundred pictures of him just today.

- I can't help it, I wanna document it all. There's a ton of things to experience the first couple of months and I still can't believe it took me a whole month to find that stupid camera.

- Careful, mom, Rory teased. - You might hurt the camera's feelings.

- Well, he deserves it, Lorelai pouted. - What camera hides at the bottom of the hallway closet? He did it just to spite me.

- Don't be sad, Herbie, Rory said to the camera. - She doesn't mean it, she's just upset.

- The camera's name is Herbie, Luke asked.

- And you're, what, surprised about this, Lorelai asked, raising her brow.

- Momentarily forgot who I'm dealing with, Luke responded.

- Oh, hey, Rory said. - I almost forgot, here.

She handed Luke the flowers they had bought him.

- What's this, Luke asked.

- Flowers, Rory pointed out.

- What am I supposed to do with them?

- We're just hopping from argument to argument here, aren't we, Lorelai groaned. - You put the flowers in a vase with water.

- I don't have a vase, Luke replied.

- They _really_ do this every year, Lorelai heard Jess mutter to Rory.

- Yup, the girl replied.

- _Buy_ a vase, Lorelai exclaimed. - I swear, you must be the only person in this town without a vase.

- I don't need a vase, 'cause I never have flowers.

- What are you talking about? Every single year Rory and I bring you flowers on Thanksgiving. It's a tradition. You _knew_ we were going to this year, as well. Buy a vase.

- Stop bringing me flowers, they said simultaneously.

Both Rory and Jess rolled their eyes at this. Jess with an annoyed expression, Rory's was more amused.

- _Again_, I knew you were gonna say that, Lorelai pointed out. - Every year we have this conversation.

- And every year you point that out, Luke retorted.

- And every year you point that out, Lorelai replied.

- Geez, Jess said. - Listen to you two, for a minute I felt like I was back in kindergarten.

- But what do I do about these, Luke asked, holding the bouquet up.

- Just put them on the counter, Rory said, before Lorelai managed to open her mouth.

- Okay, he shrugged. - Food should be ready in a minute.

The three of them took a seat at the table, Rory and Jess on one side, Lorelai on the other, taking the chair next to William. Lorelai smiled when she noticed the bowl of marshmallows placed in the middle of the table. Luke remembered. A minute later Luke placed a plate in front of Rory and one in front of Jess, then thirty seconds later he placed one in front of Lorelai and himself.

- This looks great, she told him. - Man, I'm hungry.

- You just went to, what, two dinners already and you're hungry, Luke asked, amazed.

- You've known me _how_ many years now and you're still underestimating my appetite, Lorelai asked, surprised.

- I'm just surprised that you're still eating like you did when you were pregnant, Luke pointed out.

- Oh, no, Lorelai shook her head. - You're forgetting the important thing, I've always eaten like this. The pregnancy only made me eat a little bit more healthier. Thank God that's over.

- I don't know, Rory said in a teasing voice. - You _did_ have a pretty big piece of tofurkey at the Kim's. I even believe you had seconds.

- Only because Mrs Kim made me, Lorelai pouted.

- Lane's mom caught her spitting her food into a napkin, Rory explained to Luke. - So she removed the napkins and gave mom another piece of tofurkey.

- And she didn't take her eyes off me until I had finished, Lorelai said in disgust.

- It was a very Trunchbull-y punishment, Rory agreed. - But it was kinda amusing to watch mom's expression while she ate it.

- Did I raise you to be this mean, Lorelai asked.

- You _could_ have just taken a piece of the regular turkey, Rory pointed out.

- Like Mrs Kim would let me, Lorelai replied.

- You never know, Rory shrugged. - I never thought I'd see the day Sookie let you help her in the kitchen, but I guess it's flying pig day in Stars Hollow.

- What were you doing in the kitchen, Luke asked, suspiciously.

- I cooked, Lorelai simply replied.

- Cooked, Luke asked, with a pointed look.

- Okay, so it was more like baked, Lorelai shrugged.

- She was in charge of the rolls, Rory told him.

- What were you thinking? Hell, what was Sookie thinking, Luke asked her. - You can't bake.

- I thought I was doing a nice thing, Lorelai defended herself. - Sookie had a rough night with Davey and forgot the rolls, so I offered to hit the store, get rolls. All I needed to do was heat them up in the oven. I mean, what could possibly go wrong from that?

- Only that you put the oven on too high of a temperature, put the timer on too much, triggering the smoke detector, while burning the entire batch, Rory suggested. - Oh, wait. That _was_ what happened.

- You really shouldn't even be allowed near a stove, Luke remarked.

Lorelai turned to her son who was still sucking on his fists while happily kicking his tiny feet into the air.

- Apparently it's 'make fun of mommy'-day, she told him.

For a moment William's eyes connected with hers before he again was distracted by the light coming from the window. Lorelai stretched out her arm and gently stroked the baby's cheek.

- You still love me right, she asked him.

William gently squirmed in the bouncer, a happy little shriek escaping his lips, as though he knew what she was asking. Seemingly awake, but his eyes betraying him as he got more drowsy by the second. It was like he was fighting to stay awake, but it was a battle he was beginning to lose. Lorelai bent down and placed a kiss on the top of his head.

- I love you, too, she whispered.

William was already asleep.

TBC


	58. Christmas traditions

AN: Nothing much to say other than, Steph, love you as always. You're a great beta. Thanks for everything. Just so you know guys. I hope to be writing over Christmas, just don't expect updates to come every day anytime soon, cause I have an exam to study for, family to see, me and mom are gonna get through the entire 4th season of GG while I'm home and so on. I will definitely try my best to keep the story going over Christmas break. Just giving you a heads up that I have some busy weeks ahead of me.

**smileyGGfan** - Sounds nice. I'd definitely want to see that art. I'll probably make some more myself, maybe a wallpaper or two. I just need to get some time aside from writing and doing some schoolwork. I've been putting some of it off for too long already and I'm looking at a very poor grade in one subject. And I should care, but my writing just means so much to me. Maybe one day I can actually write something with my own character and my own world and actually get something published. Until then I will be writing fanfics.

**rollsdownhill** - I know what you mean, I too love it when babies make it into the picture. It is easy to let things become kinda a boring fluff, but hopefully I'll manage to stay away from that... lol.

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - I know what you mean about the Gilmore's and cooking. Rory learning to cook is one thing, but what about Lorelai and the snails in season seven? 1) Lorelai never learned how to cook. Rory barely let her do anything to help at Martha's Vineyard. 2) She hate snails. She claimed they were still moving when Emily served them escargot. Jess has taken a different direction in his life. He's not on the path he originally was at this time in the show, but he hasn't exactly picked up a self-help book either. So lets say he's somewhere between that.

**Caffeination** - I've decided not to look at it like that, like we're being cheated. I mean, yes we are because they tore our couple apart and put Lorelai together with Dopey, who's basically controlling her. But What I'm focusing on is that Lorpey is beginning to fall apart, Lorelai and Luke are finally talking again and they are having more real moments, stronger chemistry than the so-called "happily married couple" that has almost every scene now.

**sarahb2007** - William was born 25th October. I actually had a fun thing with the number 25 this year. 25th February I posted my first real smut fic, which was Simon/Kaylee in Firefly smut. 25th April I posted the first chapter of Comfort Food. 25th May was my dad's 52nd birthday (get it... 2-5, 5-2? Also, my birthday is 2nd May, which is 02.05), then 25th October is the date William is born at, and 25th November I posted my first LL smut fic.

* * *

Lorelai pulled up in one of the empty parking spaces right outside the diner and turned her head around to check on William. The boy was sound asleep, completely dead to the world. Not that Lorelai blamed him. It had after all been a long and exciting day, especially for a six week old. She cast a glance towards the diner and saw the sign still showing the diner being open, though she couldn't see many customers. In fact, from the angle she was sitting, it appeared that the diner was empty. Leaning over she quietly unbuckled her baby boy and carefully picked him up in a way that allowed him to continue sleeping undisturbed.

Hearing the bell ring above the door as she entered, Lorelai noted that the diner was in fact completely empty. Luke was standing by the cash register counting money as well as receipts.

- Hey, Lorelai said.

- Hey, Luke replied, looking up. - You look nice, what's the occasion?

- Oh, you know, she shrugged. - The annual Gilmore Christmas extravaganza.

- Christmas is two weeks away, Luke pointed out.

- Well, tell that to Emily and Richard Gilmore, Lorelai chuckled. - I don't know if this is just their special Christmas tradition or if it's carrying on the traditions of my grandparents, but for as long as I can remember there's always been a big Christmas party two weeks early. I did tell you it's my favorite holiday tradition over there, right?

- You did, he nodded. - So how was it this year?

- The music was great, the food was amazing, Lorelai sighed. - I lost count on how many apple tarts I had. The company was surprisingly nice as well. I was actually a bit nervous about going over there tonight, because it's not just family there, but friends of the family as well. And considering how little time I gave my parents to get used to my being pregnant, well, who knows how long it took them to _spread the message_.

- But it went well, he asked, gesturing to William sleeping soundly against her shoulder.

- Yeah, she said, gently putting William down in the bouncer Luke had bought. - This little guy sure went from lap to lap tonight. When he finally fell asleep when my dad was holding him, he was completely out. I'm talking comatose sleep. He didn't even wake up when I put his snowsuit on, that's how worn out he was.

She zipped down the snowsuit, to make sure the boy wasn't getting too warm, seeing as his body wasn't good at regulating his body heat just yet, but she didn't take it completely off. Making sure the back of the chair was standing steadily towards one of the tables, she took a seat up at the counter.

- Coffee, he asked.

- Do you even have to ask?

- Well, a guy can always hope you've seen the light and switched to tea, he shrugged.

- Not in a million years, my friend, she grinned. - I need my heavenly brew, now more than ever if I'm to make this whole Inn dream of mine come true. I mean, sure Tom has done a great job so far, but we're getting to that point where we have to start ordering in a lot of things, so no maternity leave for me.

- But you're okay, financially, right, Luke asked.

- Hmm?

- You know, with the construction, paying the workers, buying equipment, it's gotta be costing a fortune, he pointed out. - I mean, I had to sell my parents house to afford converting the hardware store into a diner. And I just had me to think about, when Liz didn't need someone to bail her out, that was. With you and Sookie having to provide for your kids as well as opening a new business with no income... I guess what I'm saying is, should you ever need, you know, financial back-up, all you have to do is ask.

- Thanks, she told him. - It's really sweet of you to offer, but, really, we're okay.

Of course, that was a lie, or a fib at least. The way the budget was looking for the coming months, they would have to stretch it really thin if they were to include everything they wanted for the Inn. The way things looked, there were no margins for mistakes or time extensions, which wasn't very good business sense. If there was something she knew, it was that nothing ever ran completely smooth. Postponing thinking about it until after New Years probably wasn't the best idea. But with there not being much she could do about it, due to the holiday rush at the banks, she opted to not having her worries ruining her Christmas. She would deal with it soon enough.

Although Luke didn't seem overly convinced by her statement, he left the subject alone and poured her coffee.

- So, here's something I'm wondering, he said. - If you celebrate Christmas two weeks early, what do you do when it's actually Christmas?

- Well, me and Rory celebrate it together, of course, Lorelai replied.

- No, I mean, when you were a kid, Luke corrected. - Did you do anything special for Christmas or was the party it?

- Well, Lorelai shrugged. - Mom and dad sometimes went away over Christmas. If they were home, we usually had dinner on Christmas Eve and we saved a couple of presents from the party for Christmas morning. If they were gone, then I usually had a Christmas movie marathon on Christmas Eve and ate a lot of junk food that neither you or my parents would approve of.

- I'm sorry, Luke said, genuinely.

- Yeah, well, she shrugged. - Hey, how about you?

- Me?

- No, Bert, she answered, sarcastically. - Yes you. What did you guys do for Christmas when you were a kid?

- Oh, you know, he shrugged. - The usual.

- I thought my story just illustrated that I _don't_ know, she remarked. - Come on, elaborate a little. What's _'usual'_ for the Danes family household?

- Well, Luke said, ransacking his mind. - We got up, the four of us had breakfast together. We usually decorated the tree around noon.

- We, she asked.

- Mom, me and Liz, Luke elaborated. - Sometimes dad helped too, mostly with whatever mom couldn't reach, but it was mostly her instructing him where everything was going. Liz and I were responsible for the bottom half of the tree. Mostly it consisted of ornaments we'd made.

- I can't for the life of me picture you making Christmas ornaments, Lorelai said, grinning. - I mean, yeah sure, you were a kid once, but... nope, I can't see it.

- Well, lets just say I did it reluctantly, Luke told her. - Mom sat us down for a whole day, a couple of weeks before Christmas with glossy paper, glue, glitter, stickers, you name it, empty toilet paper rolls, felt, yarn, even tooth picks. Whatever you could make decorations out of, she had it.

He rolled his eyes, slightly, but smiled.

- Liz loved it, he continued with a soft voice. - I think about eighty or ninety percent of our half of the tree were her creations. Mom kept everything we made. It didn't matter if it was just an unrecognizable shape of black glossy paper with a couple of stickers on it...

- Yours, Lorelai enquired.

- Yup, Luke chuckled. - Mom kept every single thing for God knows what reason.

- Her son made it, Lorelai pointed out. - She didn't need any other reason.

- Yeah, well, Luke shrugged.

- Sounds like your mom was very much in charge of everything, Lorelai commented.

- She was, Luke nodded. - Dad wasn't that big on holidays, or more, the holidays were alright, but the preparations and all the extra details he just deemed unnecessary. Still he always let mom talk him into helping and drag him with her to every town event there was. She was a very social person and his idea of town involvement pretty much evolved around standing all night in the snow once a year.

- Because your father was a re-enactor, Lorelai supplied.

- Still, mom always managed in one way or another to get him to come with her. Then after she died, he just took over... everything. Everything mom used to do, he did. Whether it was the festivals, the ornament table or the special way mom used to decorate the tree.

- He really missed her, she noted.

- Yeah, Luke nodded. - He said he was a damn fool to do it, but he still continued going to every meeting, every festival and he took me and Liz with him.

- Lemme guess, you hated it, Lorelai grinned.

- Every second of it, Luke chuckled. - I only went cause my dad wanted me to.

- Is that why you don't go to festivals, Lorelai asked. - Because it reminds you too much of your mom?

- No, I never really got into the whole festival thing, Luke shrugged. - I guess I always found them rather pointless.

- Pointless, Lorelai asked. - The food drive at Thanksgiving to help the less fortunate? The town rummage sale to restore old historical artifacts?

- The Firelight festival, the Winter carnival, Luke listed. - And what about the end of Summer madness festival Taylor put up last year?

- Okay, she laughed. - So the town gets a little carried away.

- A little, he asked, with a raised brow.

- Alright, that was maybe the big understatement of the year. But it's all with the best of intention, she pointed out. - And your mom loved it.

- She did, Luke nodded.

- Do you still miss her, Lorelai wondered. - I mean, yeah, of course you miss her, she was your mother, but you almost never talk about her. I've heard you say a lot about your dad, but your mom has always been kinda a mystery to me.

- I don't really have that much to say about her, Luke shrugged. - She died when I was just a kid. But I do remember one thing. Dad never found anyone new.

- Really?

- I don't even think he went on a single date after mom died, Luke continued. - Of course, I could be wrong, but I just never saw him with anyone.

- It's hard to move on, Lorelai noted.

- I'm not so sure it's really about that. He was always so busy with me, Liz and keeping the shop going. I don't think he had much time for more. But yeah, mom probably had something to do with it as well. He wasn't rushing to replace her anytime soon. You know, every Christmas after she died, he took us to the cemetery to light a candle on her grave.

- That sounds nice, Lorelai said softly. - Do you still do that? I mean, do you light a candle on both your parents graves now?

- Yeah, Luke admitted. - I know it's stupid and sentimental, but I like including them in some way.

- It's not stupid, she told him, hoarsely. - It's a nice little tradition.

- I figured you'd say something like that, Luke chuckled.

- Yeah, she smiled. - What can I say, I'm a sucker for traditions. Taking walks in the snow with a cup of coffee in my hand, going to see the annual Christmas pageant at Miss Patty's...

Lorelai turned around and noticed the gathering at the square.

- Watching the Stars Hollow Christmas procession, she added, getting off her chair. - Turn out the lights.

- Come on, Luke objected. - It's not even the real procession.

- Do we really have to argue about this again?

Luke rolled his eyes, but followed her to the window.

- Watching Taylor fret when baby Jesus is missing an arm, Lorelai suddenly said.

- What?

- Just adding another tradition I'm fond of.

- They're still using that same doll?

- Yeah, Lorelai chuckled. - He did contemplate the idea of not using a doll this year.

- Really?

- Really, Lorelai nodded. - He came up to me a week ago and asked me if he could borrow William for the occasion. For authenticity, he said. Then promptly offered me the part of Mary.

- That must've been very flattering, Luke chuckled. - Did he say which Mary you'd be playing?

- He didn't. Could be he was looking to do a combo.

- So I guess by you being here instead of out there means that you turned him down, Luke concluded.

- It was just too much commotion, Lorelai shrugged. - William's only six weeks old. He has his whole life ahead of himself to participate in stupid town events.

- Please tell me that's how you phrased it when you turned Taylor down.

Lorelai laughed. Outside the diner the procession started up, the tree was lit and kids started dancing around it. In a couple of years William would probably be out there with the rest of the kids. Lorelai turned her head slightly only to see her son still sleeping peacefully in the bouncer. She went back to watching the festivities.

- Hey, Luke, she said after five minutes.

- Hmm?

- What do you do every year?

- What, Luke asked, confused.

- I just realized something, she replied. - With all this talk about Christmas traditions, I have absolutely no idea how you spend Christmas. I mean, now, as an adult. I know last year and the year before that included Jess, but what about before that?

- I work at the diner on Christmas, Luke answered. - You know that.

- But you close early on Christmas eve, Lorelai pointed out. - And you open late on Christmas day.

- Only because I have no customers at that time anyway, he replied.

- Are you telling me you don't do anything special for Christmas, Lorelai asked, in shock.

- I go up and cook myself a nice meal and I watch some tv, Luke shrugged.

- That's it?

- I live alone, Lorelai, Luke pointed out. - What did you expect?

- I don't know, Lorelai shrugged. - All those years I never knew. I thought, or at least I assumed that when you locked up, that you had something. Otherwise I would've... You know, you could've said something instead of letting me believe you had... things.

She playfully punched his shoulder in mock-annoyance. Luke just rolled his eyes.

- Is that the big plan for this year as well, she asked. - Or have you and Nicole made plans?

- She mentioned some thing in Chicago with some relatives of hers, Luke shrugged. - But I haven't gotten back to her on that, yet.

- Wow, Chicago, huh, Lorelai said, uncomfortably. - That's kinda far away.

The minute the name left his lips, Lorelai's heart had sunk to the ground. Even though she had assumed as much that Luke would be planning to spend Christmas with his 'wife', she had at least had hopes to in one way or another have him be a part of William's very first Christmas.

- Apparently her grandparents, favorite aunt, two cousins and a couple of other relatives I didn't catch, when she listed them, lives there.

- Sounds like a real family gathering, Lorelai said with a polite smile.

- Yeah, I guess, Luke shrugged.

- So, um, Lorelai muttered. - Are you going?

- I dunno, Luke sighed. - I mean, I told Nicole I was gonna think about it, so I will. But the way things are now, I just don't think I'm up for traveling halfway across the country to sit in a room with a bunch of people who are most likely not even gonna like me.

- So your solution is to sit alone up in your apartment on Christmas eve, Lorelai asked him.

She had to at least ask.

- I don't see anything wrong with that, Luke shrugged.

- Hey, listen, Lorelai heard herself say. - If you're not gonna celebrate Christmas with anybody, why don't you come and join me, Rory and William? It beats sitting along in your apartment. Jess will be there too. Rory's bringing him. I think he'd appreciate to have some testosterone around that isn't, you know, still in diapers.

- You sure, he asked.

- I'm sure, Lorelai nodded. - I was even contemplating on doing some cooking, so you might even be saving lives by showing up.

- I'll keep the fire department on standby, Luke commented, dryly.

TBC


	59. Christmas eve at the Crap Shack

AN: Not much to say, except, I'm going home tomorrow, so I'm not sure how much I have to fight with our DSL before it lets me on. I will do my best to get on often enough so I can keep the update flow going, so in case there are delays, my net is to blame, not me. Sqee, me and mom are gonna have a season 4 marathon. And as always, Steph, you're wonderful! Thanks for the beta-ing.

**smileyGGfan** - Yes, I did. I realized with closing in on 60 chapters it's getting more and more difficult to remember how far you've gotten, so I thought naming the chapters would make it easier for people to do so. The trick of course is not to have the names be too revealling, but still sound familiar enough so people realize what they're about anyway. Yes, I love writing with a lot of passion. But this story has gripped me stronger than the ones I've written before. Just from the consistent writing for the better part of eight months. As for becoming a published author one day, we'll see. I have ideas floating around in my head, but I also need time aside from fic writing and work to do it, so it won't be anytime soon, I'm afraid.

**snail1996** - No, it was never mentioned what happened to Luke's parents house, so I just made an assumption.

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - You've seen the same episodes I've seen fully. Other than that, you should check out the Luke scenes which are available at gilmorefan dot com. That way you can avoid Lorpey. I agree with you on the cooking, but can you please not use the word 'gay' as something negative? Too many people do that already and it's ridiculous since the word itself means to be 'happy'.

**Caffeination** - Other parts of Lorelai's life is coming, expect to see more from next chapter an onwards, don't worry, I have many of the coming chapters mapped out in details. You're not driving me crazy with questions, yet. The bouncer type Luke got was a seat-like bouncer, where the baby's in between sitting and lying down. If you do a picture search on google with the words "baby bouncer" you will see several examples on what I'm talking about on the first place.

**Severien** - You're right of course, it's not the same. But it's not completely what you say either. Sure, Luke won't experience the things as a father, but he does view himself as a father-like figure. He acts like a father for William, just as he did with Rory. So he experience it as a father substitute, kinda. And yes, from the little we've learned about Luke's mom, it sounds like there's a parallell to Luke and Lorelai's relationship.

* * *

Luke was running a bit late. Lorelai had told him they usually started around five and it was already a quarter to. First it took him longer to close than usual, mainly because Kirk had decided to order a second dessert to his meal. Usually when Kirk did this right before closing, Luke would wrap the meal up to go, but in the holiday spirit, knowing very well Kirk had nowhere else to go, as his mother had decided to celebrate Christmas with relatives out of town and left him behind, Luke let him enjoy his second dessert in the diner.

Then Nicole had called him as he had wrapped up the last present to bring with him. They had talked for a while. She had told him a couple of amusing anecdotes of their celebration so far, as well as telling him about a couple of houses and apartments that her father had seen available in Woodbridge and Litchfield, that they should check out once she came back. They had only just talked about finding a place for a short while. Nicole had made a great point in how it was too far for her to come all the way from New York every time they had a date. However Luke wasn't sure he liked involving her parents in the discussion, but he didn't say anything about it, instead promised to come with her to look.

As he hung up he was left with a dilemma he'd never before encountered before heading over to Lorelai's house; what to wear. Normally he made no fuss about his appearance. He wore what could be classified as a Luke-uniform, flannel, jeans and a backwards baseball cap, everywhere he went. Be it work, a town meeting or for playing handyman over at the Inn or Lorelai's house. Whenever there was any official business, like a banking appointment, he exchanged the flannel with a collared shirt, nixed the cap and combed his hair. He did dress up whenever he and Nicole went out on a date, but this wasn't exactly a date. And sometimes, when the occasion required it, he wore a suit. However a suit would only feel awkward and formal and Lorelai's house was anything but.

In the end he had settled on the clothes Lorelai had bought him the one and only time he'd been insane enough to lend her his credit card. He never ended up returning any of the things she had bought, just like he knew he wouldn't. She always did have a talent for getting her way with him. He chuckled when Lorelai's voice appeared in his head shouting out a _'dirty'_ for that phrase. She'd said she wanted to bring out another side of him, and she had. This was not the first time he had found the clothes handy and it probably wasn't going to be the last. And even though he would never admit it, as comfortable as he was in his flannel, she was right to point out that it wasn't exactly the appropriate attire on certain occasions.

Rory's appearance when she opened the door was pretty much as Luke had expected. Dressed up, but not in a way that conflicted with the comfortable atmosphere of the house.

- Hey, Luke, the girl said. - Merry Christmas.

- Merry Christmas, Luke responded, handing over the bag he'd brought. - Here, just a couple of presents.

He'd contemplated on bringing food and had even asked Lorelai if there was anything he could contribute with and for probably the first time in his life, he'd received an astute 'no' from the woman. She assured him that everything had been taken care of, but Luke wasn't sure if that was such an assuring thought. Who knew what Lorelai Gilmore meant with 'taken care of'. One could interpret that phrase a million different ways, none of them very reassuring. Still, going against all the warning signs flashing in front of him, he decided to trust her word. After all, whatever her and Rory did over Christmas, they had been surviving for years now and was probably going to do the same for years to come.

- Aw, Luke, you didn't have to, Rory told him.

- It's nothing big, he assured her. - So, where's everyone?

- Well, William's still taking a nap, Jess is in the living room and mom's still in the kitchen, Rory replied.

The minute Rory had said it, Luke had an uneasy feeling in his gut. If there was one certainty in his life it was that Lorelai's appearance in a kitchen, more often than not resulted in disaster.

- I'm just gonna go and put these under the tree, Rory told him, heading into the living room.

- Yeah, sure, Luke replied.

Instead of heading the same direction, he instead made his way to the kitchen, where he found Lorelai sitting at the kitchen table, staring at the oven. To his surprise he saw actual food wrapped in tinfoil in it and on top of the stove there were a couple of pots with their lids on, already removed from the hot plates.

- What do you think you're doing, he asked her.

- Merry Christmas to you too, Lorelai responded, rolling her eyes.

- Lorelai, he said, giving her a pointed look.

- What does it look like I'm doing, she asked him.

- It looks to me like you're cooking, Luke replied.

- And?

- And, he asked. - Lorelai, I've known you long enough to know that you can't cook to save your life.

- How can you be so sure about that, she wanted to know.

- Because when Rory had the chicken pox and only wanted mashed potatoes for a week, you confessed to me that you had no idea how to cook, Luke remarked, dryly.

- That was years ago, Lorelai pointed out.

- I know.

- So what you're saying is that in all those years I couldn't possibly have learned how to cook, she asked. - You have that little faith in my abilities?

- I didn't say that, Luke sighed. - You know I didn't say that.

- So I _could've_ learned how to cook.

- You _haven't_ learned how to cook, Luke pointed out.

- What makes you so sure? Is it because you think I'm so inadequate, that I couldn't possibly learn it?

- No, Luke sighed. - You can do whatever you set your mind to.

- Or is it that I'm so hazardous that I'm bound to ruin everything, Lorelai asked.

- You burned rolls just a month ago, he pointed out.

- And because of that there's no way I can put something together without it ending up in flames, is that it?

- No, he groaned. - You _know_ that's not what I meant.

- So then you admit it's possible that I _could_'ve learned how to cook.

- Possible? Yes, he admitted. - Likely? No.

- No one asked your prognosis, Lorelai grinned.

The timer on the oven started beeping and Luke looked at Lorelai expectedly, wanting to see this for himself. However, Lorelai remained seated, watching the oven. For a fleeting second, Luke wondered if this was how Lorelai had managed burning the rolls at Sookie's.

- The timer went off, he pointed out.

- I know, Lorelai replied.

- That usually means the food is ready, he told her.

- Also know that.

- So, aren't you gonna do anything?

As he said it, Rory came into the kitchen, heading straight for the oven.

- What took you so long, Lorelai asked her daughter, as she opened the oven door.

- I had my hands full, Rory replied, putting on oven mitts.

- In other words you were making out with Jess, Lorelai guessed.

- I was putting the gifts Luke brought underneath the tree, Rory corrected. - Also, Jess is completely engrossed in Hemmingway right now, so he's unreachable at the moment.

- So, Rory's really the one in charge of dinner, Luke concluded.

Lorelai gave him an amused look.

- Of course, she said. - Everyone knows I'm the anti-Midas of the kitchen.

- Right, he replied. - Because that was what you were saying before the timer went off.

- Hey, all I wanted was some acknowledgement that I _could_ have learned how to cook, Lorelai answered. - Not once did I say I was actually cooking.

Luke rolled his eyes. Before he could comment on it, the light on the baby monitor sitting on the kitchen table turned itself on and William's cry filled the kitchen.

- And there we have _my_ timer, Lorelai announced, leaving the kitchen to attend to her newly awakened son.

Luke remained in the kitchen, where Rory was in the middle of taking the tray out of the oven.

- I didn't know you cooked, Luke remarked.

True, if he was asked which of the Gilmore's was more likely to know how to cook, his answer would without a doubt be Rory. She was a very clever, not to mention responsible girl. However, he had never envisioned her to be that equipped with culinary skills.

- I don't, the girl replied. - Usually Sookie cooks Christmas dinner here, but this year her, Jackson and Davey are celebrating on their own. But since me and mom are more likely to order pizza on Christmas eve rather than attempt making anything ourselves, she prepped the entire meal in advance and left reheating instructions with me.

She opened up the tinfoil to reveal slices of turkey, one by one moving them over to a serving dish, probably one of Sookie's as Luke had never spotted one in the Gilmore house before that.

- You need help with anything, Luke enquired.

- Nope, I'm good, Rory replied, putting a lid over the serving dish to keep it warm.

- Nothing that needs to be done? The table...

- ...has already been set, Rory finished. - It's all being taken care of, don't worry.

- I feel slightly useless, he admitted.

- Just go keep Jess company while I finish up in here, she suggested.

As Rory had mentioned to her mother, Jess sat on the couch, reading Hemmingway. Luke decided not to bother his nephew and instead just looked at the pictures up on the mantel piece. He noticed a couple of new additions. Apparently Lorelai had made sure to order paper prints off a couple of the pictures she took at Thanksgiving. There was one she had taken of William in the bouncer and there was another one of him sleeping in his bassinet. Luke noticed how in both pictures the baby boy was holding onto the silly, blue bunny he had bought him right after he'd been born. One more thing he noticed was that there was something familiar about William. He reminded him of someone, but Luke just couldn't say who. Could be it was just that all babies looked alike.

In the half an hour that followed, Jess remained engrossed in the book he was reading, Luke continued looking around the living room. A recliner had been pulled up by the table on one side, on the other, at the floor a little blue baby gym, with dolphins on it, had been set up. Every now and then he heard noise coming from the kitchen. Most of it regular sounds of lids going on and off casseroles, cupboard doors and drawers opening and closing, but one time there was a crash followed by Rory's voice shouting out 'I'm okay'. After a while Lorelai came down the stairs, carrying baby William in her arms, who was dressed in what appeared to be a Santa pajamas, red top and bottom with a matching hat, only William seemed to be tugging on the edge of the hat, trying to pull it off.

- Hey, look who's finally awake to join us, Lorelai cooed.

As she looked up, she did a double take.

- Wow, Luke, she said, surprised. - You look nice. Are those the clothes I got you?

- You saw me just half an hour ago and _now_ you're commenting on my clothes, Luke asked.

- Well, I didn't notice them before, she shrugged. - I was too busy keeping an eye on the food.

- More like you were pretending to cook, to confuse me, Luke pointed out.

- Yeah, well, she grinned. - Po-tay-to, po-tah-to.

With Rory carrying the various dishes into the living room, Lorelai carefully laid William down under the baby gym, the boy already taking a fascination to the various objects dangling in front of him. Placing the last dish, a Waldorf salad, onto the table, Rory took a place on the couch next to Jess, who proceeded to put the book he was reading down. Lorelai took the seat next to her, placing her in the near vicinity of William, who seemed to be occupying himself very well by attempting to grab onto the objects dangling above him. The Santa hat was now lying next to him.

- He really doesn't seem to like that hat, Luke remarked, as he put a couple of turkey slices onto his plate.

Lorelai turned her head and chuckled as she saw the hat on the floor.

- Yeah, she replied. - It's a baby thing. He doesn't like having anything on his head, so whenever I'm putting a hat on I have to tie it on, because he's figured out how to get it off as fast as possible.

- So, it's not specifically the Santa hat.

- Nope, Lorelai shook her head. - But he has learned that pulling on the tassel makes it come off quicker, so it's a miracle I even made it down the stairs before the hat came off.

- He's a smart boy, Luke remarked.

- That he is, Lorelai agreed, proudly.

- But, why the Santa outfit?

- Oh, that's just mom living in a dream, Rory shrugged.

- What dream, Luke asked, confused.

- Of finding a way of including Santa in our Christmas tradition, Rory answered.

- By dressing the kid in Santa pajamas, Luke asked, puzzled. - Why don't you just have someone dress up as Santa? Just so you know, I'm _not_ offering.

- Are you kidding me, Lorelai exclaimed. - And repeat the Santa disaster of 86' and 87'?

- And here we go, Rory sighed.

- What, Luke asked.

- Well, lets just say we found out very early that Rory and Santa just doesn't get along, Lorelai shrugged.

- I'm intrigued, Jess said. - I thought you of all people would be Santa's favorite.

- Aw, no, Lorelai said, patting Rory's head. - It was nothing like that. When me and Rory first moved to the Inn, I didn't have much in terms of money, so I had very little to give her for Christmas, so I was more relying on giving her things that were, you know free.

- Makes sense, Luke nodded.

- So, I never had any visits from Santa when I was a kid, I never sat on his lap at the mall, telling him what I wanted for Christmas. I only ever saw that happen in movies, Lorelai continued. - So I decided if there was one thing I was gonna make sure my kid got it was a bond with Santa. So I asked the old night manager at the Inn if he could do it, cause he had the voice and I could really picture him fitting in a Santa costume and there was a costume hidden in the supply closet that Mia told me was sometimes used for occasions like that. Well, so, the first year Rory was only one year old, so I guess that time it was more for me than it was for her. John, the night manager did a great job, really sold the part. _I_ almost started to believe he was the real deal. Rory didn't really pay much attention to him, but she was only one, so... but all in all I thought it went pretty successful, so next year I asked John to repeat his performance. This time, Rory was playing on the floor when _'Santa'_ came knocking the door and the minute he came in and he asked if there were any good kids in the house, Rory ran and hid behind the curtain in the tub.

- The tub, Jess asked, confused.

- Me and Rory lived in the old potting shed at the Independence Inn, Lorelai explained. - It was basically one room, the whole thing, so I'd strung up a curtain around the tub, so we kinda had our own bathroom. So I tried talking to her, telling her Santa really wasn't that bad, but no matter what I said she simply refused to come out. So I had to _'accept'_ her gift on her behalf and give it to her after Santa had left. So that year didn't really go well.

- I can't believe you were afraid of Santa, Jess teased.

- Hey, I was two, Rory pointed out. - He was really tall, and wide, think Taylor only bigger, because I was very short. And he had one of those booming voices. And to top it all he was wearing one of those scary paper maché masks, where the eyes were cut out.

- You actually remember that, Jess asked, impressed.

- No, Rory shook her head. - But John worked as a night manager for several years before Tobin took over, so I remember how he was built and the voice. And I saw the Santa mask when I was helping mom tidying up the supply closet. It was absolutely horrible; I can't believe Mia actually bought it for the Inn.

- Hey, it was the eighties, Lorelai pointed out. - There weren't exactly many options when it came to Santa costumes those days.

- There were bound to be better than that, Rory replied.

- So was that the end of the Santa debacle, Luke asked.

- Oh no, Lorelai shook her head. - When have you ever seen me give up that easily? So, the third and what ended up being the final year of the 'Santa debacle', I decided to prep Rory on the Santa thing, make sure she knew he was coming and that he was a good guy, not bad. But as a precaution I made sure she sat on my lap while we waited for Santa, so she felt safe. So he came in, asked the same thing he did both years before, but made sure he did it in a slightly less booming voice. So Rory didn't run, which I pegged as a good thing and I let her walk up to accept her gift. John knelt to make sure he was on her level, but instead of taking her gift, she pulled the mask off, thereby learning there's no Santa. So much for my careful planning.

- It was a completely fake looking mask, mom, Rory pointed out.

As the four of them continued the meal, the conversation remained light. Rory gave her prognosis for what she thought the outcome of her last two finals would be. Jess gave a brief update on school, mostly just one or two word responses to questions Luke and Lorelai had. Lorelai and Rory gave a couple of funny anecdotes from the Christmas party at the Gilmore estate, even Jess chimed in on one of them, as Rory apparently had managed to talk him into attending it with her. Jess also briefly mentioned having gotten back in touch with his mom.

Since he had been forbidden to help with preparation of dinner, it didn't surprise Luke when the Gilmore girls declined his offer to help out with the clean up. Instead Lorelai had handed him William, who had just spent the last ten minutes of the meal in the comfort of his mother's arms. With Jess returning to his book, Luke carried William with him to the kitchen. Lorelai had started soaking the dishes that Rory had scraped the leftovers off of.

- So, Luke wondered. - What's next on tonight's agenda?

- Our annual Christmas movie night, of course, Rory told him.

- Really? Movie night, huh, Luke said, not really surprised at all.

- Yes, Rory nodded. - Every since we got a VCR me and mom bring out all the Christmas movies. We have a lot so we always end up picking different movies every year, save one. We always start the night with one specific movie.

- Oooh, that reminds me, Lorelai said, as she began scrubbing the sauce pan. - A couple of weeks ago I found the long version.

- There's a long version out, Rory asked, intrigued.

- Yes, apparently they released it earlier this year or last year or something.

- How long is this version?

- Almost half an hour longer than the one we already had.

- Score, Rory exclaimed.

- I know, Lorelai grinned.

- What do you think the extra scenes are of, Rory wondered.

- I hope they have more of the teacher, Lorelai said. - I always crack up whenever he's on.

- Poor guy, Rory laughed. - All he wants in his life is to get the prince to do his homework.

- Of course all the prince wants to do is to go hunting.

- I'm sorry, Luke interrupted. - But what movie are you talking about?

- It's a Cinderella movie, Rory explained. - The english title is 'Three Wishes for Cinderella'.

- But it's not the boring Disney kinda Cinderella, Lorelai elaborated. - If you took Drew Barrymore's performance in Ever After, added a little more mischief, a sharper tongue, Winter surroundings...

- Plus taught her to speak Czech, Rory added.

- Of course, Lorelai nodded. - Then you'd be almost there.

- What's the original title, Luke asked.

- Don't even go there, Lorelai told him. - You wouldn't even begin to know how to pronounce it.

William began fussing in Luke's arms, which immediately caught Lorelai's attention. Pulling the dishwashing gloves off, she held her arms out, gesturing for Luke to hand the baby over, which he did.

- Okay, she said, as she supported the baby against her shoulder. - So duty calls, I guess. You'll be alright in here?

- I'll have it all prepped for movie night by the time you come back down, Rory promised.

With Lorelai out of the room, Luke didn't even bother to ask if Rory wanted his help or not and just took over her mother's post by the sink. As the last utensil was washed, dried and put in its proper place, Rory began filling bowls with so much candy Luke felt he was getting a cavity just by looking at it. When Lorelai finally came back down, she came alone, carrying the baby monitor.

- Not only was he hungry, she said. - He was tired too. Completely conked out while he was eating. So are we ready?

- All we have left is picking the movies, Rory informed her, gesturing to the large box of video cassettes.

- Have you explained the rules to the men, Lorelai asked.

- Nope, the girl replied. - I thought I'd let you do that.

- Okay, Lorelai told Luke and Jess. - Gentlemen, in this box right here we have every single Christmas movie me and Rory own. We only pull the box out when the holiday kicks in and we put it away once New Years is over. We never decide on which movies to watch on Christmas eve until right before we're about to watch. That way the choices will strictly be made on impulse.

- There's one exception to that rule, Rory added.

- Yes and that is that we always see what we at the Crap Shack has come to call 'the Cinderella movie'. That is always the first movie we see in the evening and we will hear none of you saying otherwise, Lorelai announced, giving them a look that unmistakably said she meant business. - The rest of the movie watching evening is left to chance.

She turned the box up-side-down and emptied its content on the floor.

- Okay, Lorelai said. - We have movies such as; A Christmas Story, Miracle on 34th Street, It's A Wonderful Life, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Santa Clause 1 & 2, The Nightmare Before Christmas, the Home Alone trilogy...

- Well, I'm just saying right now, Jess said, as Lorelai mentioned it. - Under no circumstances am I watching 'Home Alone' one, two or three.

- Which one is that, Luke asked.

- The one with the annoying kid who sets up booby traps around his house to catch burglars, Jess summed up.

- Okay, Luke nodded. - I'm with Jess on that one.

- Okay, Lorelai said. - So Kevin McCallister goes, got it. Anything else?

With some back and forth they ended up picking out 'A Christmas Carol' and 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas'. Lorelai and Rory also insisted on finishing off with 'The Nightmare Before Christmas', pledging their undying love for Tim Burton. As Lorelai went to put the tape in the VCR, Rory snuggled up to Jess, who immediately put his arm around her.

- Hey mom, Rory said, as she was getting situated. - I looked the movie up on IMDB the other day.

- The other day, Lorelai asked with her brows raised. - How long ago was 'the other day'?

- About a week ago.

- Oh, so _literally_ the other day. Okay, go on.

- And I made the startling realization that we haven't been so original with our choice of annual Christmas movie as we thought we'd been.

- Whatever do you mean, Lorelai wondered.

- Well, according to the trivia, the only trivia, I might add, this movie is shown every year on TV at Christmas in five different European countries.

- Hmm, Lorelai replied. - Does this mean we should reconsider our tradition?

- And what, Rory asked. - Switch to one of the more traditional Christmas movies instead?

- Or maybe we should pick one that no one in their right mind would associate with Christmas?

Rory gave her mother a look.

- I'm just saying, Lorelai shrugged.

- I think we're better off keeping things the way they are, Rory concluded.

- I guess.

- Besides, Rory continued. - We should really take it as a compliment on our good taste.

- Good point, Lorelai grinned. - Alright, is everyone situated?

Luke shrugged from his seat in the recliner.

- Just a last minute announcement, Lorelai continued. - Talking, as long as it's commenting on the movie and not something else, is allowed. If you have to go to the bathroom, make it quick and make it discrete, because this movie stops for no one. Am I clear?

Rory didn't need to respond, Jess grunted a simple 'yes' and Luke nodded.

- Alright, Lorelai said. - Roll film.

Halfway into the intro, the baby monitor lit up and William's cry filled the living room. Lorelai quickly got up, but not before hitting the 'pause' button on the remote, freezing the picture as the girl, Luke guessed to be 'Cinderella' was being presented.

- This doesn't count, she explained as she ran up the stairs to tend to her crying baby.

Luke rolled his eyes. Of course, when one were dealing with the Gilmore girls, rules, even their own rules, simply didn't matter.

TBC


	60. Back to old roots

AN: Okay, so: Merry Christmas to all of you. If anyone was wondering I had a couple of computer light days, plus there was Christmas. So I had what I believe is a well-earned break, but now I'm writing again. I hope you all had a good time and got what you wanted. I got three things I wanted "Pirates of the Caribbean 2", a _signed_ Nemi-book (Norwegian comic series about a goth girl, is also found in the Brittish Metro), and Brittish pounds, so I have some cash for my UK trip in March. Yup, Glasgow, here I come! As usual, kudos to Steph, who couldn't wait to get her claws in the new chapter to proofread it.

**lukelover87** - Better late than never ;)

**Kathrin** - I'm always happy to hear when people like that I mix the "real" storyline with mine. I think it's an exaggeration that "almost everyone" knows this movie, but yes, it's a great movie. True to tradition I watched it this Christmas as well. I'm glad you were so happy about my having the gang watch it. The dance is _the_ favorite scene of mine. That dance speaks true intimacy between them. That episode is my favorite one, I can't wait to show it to mom.

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - Sorry to disappoint, if I had more of Christmas eve it would've been in that chapter. And don't worry about the "gay" thing. Like I keep telling mom, when she starts to worry about what people say around me (because they don't know about my sexuality), I'm not offended. I just try to do my part to change people's use of certain expressions so other people again won't be hurt. But gay's and bi's are used to the words being "common" slang words, but it doesn't stop me from at least trying.

**Nubes** - I can't say if the end if forseeable or not, because my head keeps coming up with continuing stuff. As long as I have a story to write, it will be written. Honestly, when I've gotten this far, I doubt I'll stop anytime soon.

**smileyGGfan** - No, I just skimmed a couple of passages to remember the chapter and decided from there. It was pretty easy, cause the story in general is very fresh in memory and all I really need is a little reminder. As for pursuing a career in writing, we'll have to see. As for Luke seeing a familiarity, it isn't something he'll notice in a mirror. Think 'baby' and maybe you will understand what I meant with the 'familiarity'.

**Gymtig** - I was only 2 1/2 when I pulled off santa's mask, so that must make me _really_ smart.

**Ronnie3** - I love how I get a responce from a Czech when I mention a Czechian movie. Yes, I've seen it and I love it. They air it here every Christmas and my whole family gathers to watch it. And I can completely see Lorelai and Rory watching it. It's right up their alley.

* * *

Rory entered her house without calling for her mother, opposite as she had always done when coming home for as long as she could remember. The reason behind this change was William's sleep pattern, or rather lack of. It was completely natural, of course. Even though he was more fixating his eyes on the people around him now and one felt more connected to him when holding him, his main activities were still eating, pooping and sleeping at a three to four hour interval, sometimes longer, other times shorter. He wasn't really that difficult of a baby to put down to sleep, unless he was having a grumpy day, due to a stuffy nose, mild stomach aches or other things similar to that, or when he was woken up abruptly. When he was startled awake, it usually took up to half an hour to calm him down, depending on the noise level.

So Rory didn't call out, instead she first looked in the living room to see if her mom was there, then she went into the kitchen and found her mom talking on the phone, her back turned towards her.

- ...so, um... how family friendly is your business? ... Well, see, I have a two month old, so... yeah, a boy... Well, no... I can't hire a babysitter, that's why I need this job in the first place... oh, really... you realized that just now... yeah, well, then I guess there's nothing you can do... No, no... no hard feelings... Yeah... Bye... _Gah!_

Lorelai slammed the phone down on the receiver, in sheer frustration and rested her head in her hands.

- Who was that, Rory asked.

If this had been a cartoon, Lorelai would've jumped so high in surprise her head would get stuck in the roof. In reality, Lorelai almost made her chair tip over backwards, but only almost.

- Oh God, Rory, she yelped, turning around. - _Announce_ yourself!

- Sorry, Rory apologized. - I didn't mean to startle you.

- You never, ever sneak up on people like that, Lorelai vented. - I almost choked on my own heart, that's how high up my throat my heart went.

- Well, your sitting with your back turned towards me, really gave me no choice in the matter, Rory pointed out.

- What are you home for, anyway, Lorelai asked.

- Gee, feel the love in this room, Rory said, rolling her eyes.

- I just meant, I thought you said you were gonna spend some time at campus, Lorelai explained. - Even though I just thought it was just another excuse to see Jess.

- I have some reading I want to get done before classes officially start up, so I don't fall behind, Rory told her mom. - Which was why I was planning on spending some time alone at the dorm, but apparently Paris had the same idea. At least she's back early, too.

- And you didn't want to see her Soon-Yi-ing it, Lorelai concluded. - Got it. So you're staying here until classes officially start up?

- Looks like, Rory shrugged. - If you'll have me here, that is.

- Hon, Lorelai said, wrapping her arms around her. - Even if you'd just crawled through a sewer to get here, I'd have you here... I'd send you straight to the shower, but I'd have you here.

- That's reassuring, Rory laughed. - So, this is what you've been up to for the past couple of days? Job hunting?

- Yeah, I started with calling the Inns in the nearby area three days ago, Lorelai told her. - And they're all, believe it or not, fully staffed. Well, except for the _Maiden's Teacup_, who are currently desperately searching for a maid. But it's very low wage, so I'd have to put in an extra amount of hours to make ends meet. So that's my fallback option if everything else fails.

- From that emotional display just now I take it that's where things are heading, Rory concluded.

- That call just there was me being turned down as a waitress, Lorelai said.

- You're kidding, Rory said, surprised.

- Yeah, Lorelai shrugged. - They had teensy little problem with me having to bring William with me to work. They actually suggested finding a babysitter, a nanny or something, as if someone applying for a job as a waitress can afford such luxury.

- And you'd rather work as a waitress than a maid, Rory wondered. - I mean waitressing is pretty much minimum wage, as well.

- True, Lorelai agreed. - But the tip prospects are higher at a fully packed restaurant than being a maid at an establishment with only 15 rooms.

- Good point. So you've been turned down by how many places now?

- I've lost count, but we're up in two digits.

- Really?

- It never fails, Lorelai sighed. - Every time I call about a job, tell them about my past work experience, the many different events I've run successfully, they seem thrilled, like they would want to hire me on the spot, then I let it slip that I just had a kid and suddenly, the job dries up. They realize they misheard something I said, the position is filled right that moment... or my personal favorite; the boss who I had just spoken with five minutes ago is currently away on business in China and has to personally 'okay' whoever's hired, so I'll hear from them in two to three weeks.

- Which job was that?

- Oh, just a secretary job in Hartford, Lorelai shrugged. - I tried a couple of places in New Haven as well, figuring we could benefit from it, get some girl on girl time, after you finish homework and I finish work.

- And with you now seeking to fulfill your dream of waitressing, I'm guessing that plan fell through.

- Like Kitty Pryde and walls, Lorelai sighed. - You know, I always knew I was lucky when Mia hired me, I just never knew the real reason _why_ I was lucky. See, I always thought it was because I was a teenager with no references or experience. I mean, getting hired now, at thirty-five, when I have eighteen years of work experience behind me, letters of recommendations up the wazoo, getting a job now should be a piece of cake, right? Right? Wrong. It was never the teenage part that was the problem. Teens get hired all the time, but add a kid...

- Is this about Luke hiring Lane, Rory asked. - Because, you know that if you had even mentioned to Luke that you needed a job, he'd have hired you on the spot.

- Well, he doesn't need anyone now that he's got 'super waitress' working for him, Lorelai pouted.

- Okay, there's no need to be upset with Lane about it.

- I'm not, Lorelai sighed. - It's just... it would've been perfect, you know. It'd pay the bills, I'd be close to the Inn in case of emergency, Luke'd get to see William a lot more. If only I'd known he was planning on hiring again.

- You know, mom, Rory said. - I _could_ ask Lane to...

- _No_, Lorelai said, astutely, cutting her off. - I'm not about to steal Lane's job away from her. She's a great kid and she deserves it. I just have to realize I'm not gonna catch a break anywhere else and just call the _Maiden's Teacup_ back and tell them I'll take the job.

Rory didn't get time to comment on her mother's decision, as the phone suddenly rang.

- Hello, Lorelai answered. - What? ... Michel? Calm down. I can't understand you when you're _not_ screaming hysterically... Well, okay, well... What are you... Okay! Okay, I'll be right there... Goodbye...

- What was that all about, Rory asked, confused.

- I have no idea, Lorelai sighed. - He didn't really form that many coherent sentences, so I have to go and look in on the situation. You don't mind looking after William for me, do you? 'Cause he's still sleeping and if I wake him, he'll be fussy and cranky.

- Sure, Rory told her.

- He'll be up in half an hour, an hour tops. If I'm not back by then, all you have to do is heat up the emergency bottle in the fridge. You do remember how to do that, right?

- Mom, relax, Rory said. - Everything's under control, go sort out Michel.

- I'll be back as soon as I can, Lorelai promised. - If there's anything, just call my cell.

- I will.

With that Lorelai disappeared out the door.

TBC

_AN: Sorry for the shortness, but the next one is four time as long ;)_


	61. The Teacup, the Snow and the Plumber

AN: Okay, so I should be studying. And of course I can't seem to find an energy, not even an impending low grade, possibly failing can inspire me. What's wrong with me? So instead... I write. So, season 7 has now started airing in Norway, lets hope the coming episodes in the US give us poor Norwegians something to look forward to, when we suffer through the "Chris and Loooor show", yuck! Also, curse the lack of update notices! As always, Steph, you're my knight in shining armor! Always.

**Cinny72** - Having a baby is expencive enough, but having a baby on your own when you're trying to opening a new business is downright impossible, hence the need for Lorelai to get a job to keep up with her personal expences.

**smileyGGfan** - Read your one-shot and reviewed it, if you didn't notice already. Would it really be fun if I revealled _when_ she tells him? I can tell you that I've written parts of a Luke-reaction to the "telling", which my beta has already read and given her comments on, but when it's happening will stay a mystery until you read it here. As for the baby-familiarity thing, let me give you one last hint. What other baby has Luke seen in his life that would make William look familiar? Maybe you get it now.

**Caffeination** - I'm glad you liked my little "reality check" as you called it, it really was something that had to be done. The situation really demanded it or else I'd be just pretending it was all glamorous, when we all know it's not.

**rollsdownhill** - Didn't notice it, but then again I was probably tired when I wrote it. Thanks for pointing it out.

**GiGi892** - I take your parents hating me as the highest compliment :) I'm still just training myself to drink coffee. Yes, people, I've started. But so far only coffee mocha whenever I'm out. And yes, I have a feeling a lot of people wanna smack me, which I also take as a compliment. What moment was it that got you angry and excited at the same time? I have to know... lol. William has no middle name and for the moment, his last name is Gilmore, but don't count on that to last ;) And Luke stuff is to come, trust me, a lot of things are planned. And yes, I agree, Chris is an ass. I will warn everyone I know that watch GG to be cautious on which episodes to watch, especially episode 7. Gah! (In case you didn't notice what I wrote above, I live in Norway and we just got season 7 here, so we're in for a lot of pain).

**Severien** - Sorry about that, but Luke is in this one, I promise ;)

* * *

It took a very refined nose to be able to smell snowfall and even more so to predict a snowfall when last years snow still decorated the edges of the road and sidewalks; but that was precisely what Lorelai had done that morning. From the moment one of her eyelids opened, she had known. She had known that sometime in the next couple of days, snow would come. Due to reduced sleep with the baby, Michel rolling baby Davey under the bed. _Note to self, never let Michel babysit William, ever._ Not to mention her anticipations for the new extra job, as well as having to take care of various tasks over at the Dragonfly, she was just too tired to pinpoint a more specific time.

The sky was still clear when she had her breakfast at Luke's, though after a couple of cups of coffee she could by, just taking one whiff outside, decide that today was definitely the day it would happen. The sky remained clear while she had her first day of work; making up the seven rooms that were rented out that day with two other maids present, one of them to act as Lorelai's supervisor for the day, just a formality to make sure Lorelai knew the ropes instead of putting her through the unnecessary three days training, as she was already familiar with working in the hotel industry. The sun disappeared behind heavy clouds when Lorelai drove back to Stars Hollow to meet with Tom and get the latest update on the work being done, then meeting with Sookie to give her the update as well and to go over some paper work. When she drove back to work to do turndown service, as she might as well get the full training over and done with in one day, her and her boss, Jenna had decided, it was already evening, but still there had been no snow.

However when she exhaustedly opened the car door, intending to retrieve her sleeping son from his car seat, the first flake fell and landed on the tip of her nose. As though she had suddenly been recharged with energy, Lorelai forgot how tired she was. Before, whenever there was even a hint of snowfall, Lorelai would instantly inform her daughter, but by the time she had carried William inside, she remembered that Rory had a philosophy final the next day and was probably not going to be pleased by an interruption just to hear that the first snow of the year was happening. Instead she whispered the news to William, knowing very well the boy neither could hear her nor understand what she was telling him.

Not even this time did he wake as she unstrapped him and carried him inside. Temporarily laying him down on the couch where a fleece blanket was folded up to make a soft bed for sleeping babies, Lorelai retrieved his stroller from the car and set it up in the foyer. There was no way her son was going to witness the first snowfall of the year from the window of his own house, even when Rory had been his age and Lorelai and her both had been living at the Gilmore mansion, Lorelai had dressed her little girl and carried her out on the balcony where she ironically had been conceived and the two of them had rejoiced in the wondrous sight of flakes flurrying around them both. Rory had been awake and had even a couple of times tried to grab one of those odd white things she saw gliding down from the sky. Had Lorelai not been confined to her room that evening, she would have taken Rory out for a stroll in the snow.

But there was no Emily Gilmore to tell her to stay inside, no Emily to have a say in anything that regarded William, so Lorelai quickly refilled the baby bag with a full bottle, since William was getting a bigger appetite and required more than she managed to give him, though she hadn't let Luke in on that bit of information just yet, as well as a couple of more diapers as William had used a larger number than expected that particular day. It was as though he _knew_ she didn't have that many packed. But it didn't take her long before she picked him up and placed him in his stroller, his hand still grasping Bunny with his thumb halfway in his mouth. He had just a few days earlier learned how to _just_ suck on his thumb instead of his whole hand, but it was still a bit troublesome for him to do that every time.

He was stirring as she put her scarf and gloves back on, but as she had fed him just before leaving work it was still at least two hours before she expected him to be hungry again. And then they left the house behind them to witness some of the magic in the world. As she pushed the stroller through the little streets of Stars Hollow, she told her son about all the wondrous miracles that happened around snowfall. Knowing very well it would be a while before anything she said would mean anything to him, she still thought him hearing her voice at least counted for something. The hum of her voice was for Williams benefit, the words she spoke were for hers. She told him about her experience with snow when she was a kid, about his sister and snow. Her last story was one involving his father and her. She told him about them riding in a sleigh together through the snow covered streets of this very town.

The story ended just as they were outside the diner. Looking through the window she saw Luke closing the register, probably finishing counting up the money and receipts. Suddenly getting an idea, she leaned over the stroller, looking at her now wide awake baby boy.

- Do you want me to go ask daddy if he wants to come out and play with us, she asked, already having made sure no one else was remotely close to hear her say the d-word.

William didn't make any sounds, but his face lit up and he smiled. He probably understood from the tone of her voice that this was a treat. Lorelai interpreted this as a 'yes'. She picked the boy up in her arms and opened the door, which Luke hadn't locked yet.

- We're closed, he said, simply when the bell above the diner rang, then looked up to see her. - What are you doing here?

- I've come into this diner a hundred and fifty times after closing, at least, Lorelai pointed out. - And you're still surprised to see me?

- Not usually, he replied, dryly. - But I figured with William and everything that... Shouldn't he be in bed by now? Don't kids usually get to bed really early?

- He's too young to sleep through the whole night just yet, Lorelai informed him. - It's usually at three-four hour intervals, sometimes he wakes up after just an hour, other times he can go for five hours, but then he's really hungry and cranky when he wakes up. So I haven't really managed to establish any form of sleeping pattern just yet, so it's really based on 'whenever, wherever'-mode. Sleeping, eating, it all happens at the oddest time, not to mention diaper changes. I think my favorite time was when I was meeting with the bank and I had to pause the meeting to go change my son. Had the banker been a family man I would've gotten props for putting my kid first.

- Let me guess, he doesn't have kids at all?

- Not yet, at least, Lorelai sighed. - And I'm betting you when he does, he'll be one of those guys that won't even remember his own kids names. And if their pictures make his wallet, it will only be because his wife put them there. He was a classic overachieving, 'career is everything' type of man. One you could imagine would put a bed in his office and sleep at work, just so he could put in those extra couple of hours.

- I hope you didn't get into trouble with the bank or anything, Luke said. - What were you doing there anyway?

- I was just talking to them about getting a line of credit for the inn.

- Why? Are you having money trouble, Luke asked, concerned. - Is that why you took that job?

- No, Lorelai shook her head. - The job is just to help provide for William while me and Sookie are setting up the inn. We're just anticipating some minor cash flow issues that could go smoother if the bank said yes to my proposal.

- Did they go for it?

- I don't know, Lorelai shrugged. - I have another meeting with them coming up; I might get an answer then, or maybe another meeting. We'll see.

- You don't think they're gonna refuse you because of William, do you?

- I don't think it _helped_ my case to have to change him right in the middle of the meeting, but I think I can smooth it over at the next meeting.

- If you want, I can watch him for you, Luke suggested. - That way you'll have no distractions.

- Oh, wow, you sure? They're always in the middle of the day, Lorelai told him. - Don't you have to watch the diner?

- Ceasar can manage for a couple of hours without me, Luke assured her. - He's done it before. And in the afternoons I have Lane coming in as well. Plus it's not like I'd be far away, just upstairs.

Lorelai didn't know what to say. Up through the years, she had gotten used to Luke's generosity. Whenever she needed something fixed, at home, at the inn, Luke didn't even hesitate to drop whatever he was doing to come to her aid. Sometimes he even did her favors she hadn't asked him to. That was just the way Luke was. See a need, fill a need. What she hadn't gotten used to was to properly express her gratitude towards him. Of course she thanked him, but it just didn't seem enough. Plus, how often could a man hear the words 'thank you' before they started to lose their meaning for him? She also did her best to help him whenever he needed help. That was what friends did, but the ratio of favors she did him was one to every five he did her, possibly ten.

- My knight in shining armor, she sighed.

Humoristic comments, with strong undertones of genuine gratitude was the way she often solved dilemmas like these and Luke seemed to understand it as well.

- Yeah, I'm a regular Lancelot, he commented, dryly.

- Lancelot slept with Guinevere, Lorelai pointed out. - How shiny could his armor really be?

- Then which knight do you peg me to be, Luke asked, curiously.

- Sir Galahad, Lorelai suggested. - Maybe Arthur himself.

Luke seemed to be about to ask something, probably who Sir Galahad was, but then apparently changed his mind on continuing the knight discussion.

- You're here for coffee, he asked, instead.

- Not now, Lorelai shook her head. - William and I was taking a walk in the snow and we wanted to invite you to come with.

- Why?

- It's the first snow, Luke, Lorelai told him.

- It snowed three weeks ago, Luke pointed out, matter-of-factly.

- Not since before new years, Lorelai corrected. - It's the first snow of the year.

- The sidewalks have been covered with snow ever since Christmas, Luke countered. - We haven't been without snow for a month and a half.

- Bah, humbug, Lorelai shook her head. - Dirty grey and yellow lumps at the edge of the sidewalks doesn't qualify as real snow. Besides, William missed out on the first snow of the season, since he had a cold, so this is a do-over.

- You took him out to see the snow on Christmas Eve, Luke pointed out. - You paused the stupid movie just as the green guy was stealing the Christmas tree so you could take him out to greet the snow.

- The Grinch, Lorelai corrected. - Yes, I showed him snow, but it wasn't the first snow; this however is.

- Why do I bother arguing with you, Luke thought out loud.

- Because it's fun, Lorelai grinned. - So are you coming with?

- Why do you want me there, Luke wondered.

For anyone who even remotely knew Lorelai and the truth about William's paternity, the answer to the question would be obvious. But since Luke didn't know the truth... _yet_, she reminded herself. Luke didn't know _yet_ that he was William's father, so Lorelai had to give him another reason.

- Because that's what friends do, she told him. - They share experiences with each other.

- I don't exactly call frozen water falling from the sky an experience.

- Come on, Grinch, Lorelai pleaded.

She lifted William up in front of her face and spoke with light voice.

- Yes, Luke, she said. - Come play with us, forever and ever, and ever...

In her mind, she was saying 'daddy' instead of 'Luke'. And hopefully, one day she could say it out loud as well without worrying about being overheard.

- Okay, Luke replied, shaking his head. - You _do_ know that boys don't talk with high pitched voices.

- That's the good thing about babies, Lorelai grinned. - Their voices are gender neutral. I think that's why so many baby clothes are color coded, so people don't have to ask if it's a boy or girl.

Eventually with a couple of more pleas, all involving William in one way or another, she got Luke to throw on a jacket and come out to join them. With William awake, she lifted up the back of his stroller, so he could semi-sit and thereby could see the flakes more easily. As much as Luke had been against the idea of walking around in the cold, getting snow all over, he seemed to enjoy it. Lorelai was dead sure she caught a beginning of a smile when she looked at him one time. But even though they were all enjoying themselves they only made it around the square once before William indicated that he'd had enough. It was still too early for him to be hungry and he didn't make any of his usual gestures like he did when he was hungry, so Lorelai pegged him either to be tired or maybe he needed a diaper change. Either way when Luke suggested going back into the diner for a cup of coffee, Lorelai accepted.

It was a diaper change he needed and Lorelai discovered to her great surprise that Luke had put in a small table in the diner's bathroom, enabling her to change William there. Apparently her many trips up the stairs to borrow his apartment to do so, in combination with the smelly diapers in the trash bin had persuaded him to get it. It was just a simple table, but it was right next to the sink and just the right size to get the job done.

When she came back out, she put William in the bouncer and sat down at the counter, where Luke had already placed a cup of steamy hot coffee for her enjoyment. It was an hour after Luke's usual closing time, an hour after he had shut off the coffee maker. Not that it mattered when it came to her. She couldn't remember one time where Luke had refused to serve her after closing. He usually gruffly reminded her that he was closed, but he never enforced the restriction on her, instead he gave into her every whim and gave her coffee, even cooked her order or gave her a doughnut if she was hungry.

- Ah, she said, after taking her first sip. - Nothing like a good cup of coffee after walking in the snow.

- Yeah, Luke rolled his eyes. - Nothing like a good cup of poison to go with freezing your butt off.

- Oh, come on, Lorelai laughed. - You enjoyed it. Don't think I didn't see that smile of yours, buddy. Admit it, you thought it was fun.

- Well, he sighed. - I guess it didn't completely suck.

- Wow, from Luke Danes that's almost like proclaiming love, Lorelai teased.

- William seemed to have fun, Luke pointed out, ignoring her joke.

- He takes after his mother and sister that way, Lorelai grinned.

It _was_ nice to see more of herself in him as well. Most of the time she seemed to notice the things William had in common with Luke or even other members of the family, especially Rory. But it was easy noticing the similarities with the siblings, because her mind was filled with memories of Rory when she was a baby. The sounds, the movements, even the smell. Rory had smelled pink. Lorelai had lost count on how many strange looks she had received when she had said it, but there was no other way of explaining it. Naturally this had to mean that boys smelled blue, but William didn't. He too had that pink baby smell.

- Now that you mention it, Luke said. - Isn't this your and Rory's thing?

- Rory has a philosophy final tomorrow, Lorelai told him. - And you know how seriously she takes her studying.

- Oh, I know, Luke chuckled.

Lorelai smiled. Luke _did_ know. For as long as they had known him, Rory had taken to studying at the diner more than a few times. When she did, Luke would refill her coffee cup again and again without complaints; bring her pie, fries, burgers... Rory had once mentioned something about a trout, but given no other details.

- She's doing well at Yale, Luke asked.

- She seems happy there, Lorelai nodded. - Some of her suitemates are driving her crazy at times, though.

- Well, one of them _is_ Paris, Luke pointed out.

- True, Lorelai chuckled. - Jess seems to be doing well, also. Rory at least says she hasn't found a Wal-Mart uniform yet.

Luke laughed at her joke. Lorelai had observed the two at Christmas. They seemed to be at some form of wavelength, not in an impressing way or anything, but as Luke had told her, they had an understanding.

- Yeah, he nodded. - Rory's been a good influence on him.

- I don't think she's the only one who has, Lorelai told him, pointedly, hoping to get her point across to him that he could take a lot of the credit for Jess' change as well.

Luke seemed to be pondering on a proper reply when the phone suddenly rang, startling Lorelai. Who called the diner at this hour? She looked out the windows to see if anyone was out there.

- Hello, Luke answered the phone. - Oh, hi... You did? ... Yeah, I was finishing up some things downstairs and... Hmm? ... Oh, you know, the usual... cleaning the grill, wiping the counter...

Lorelai had a feeling she knew who was at the other end. Luke's way of avoiding mentioning she was there was enough of an indicator that the person calling was a woman and not just any woman. Nicole. Despite her curiosity she tried tuning out of the conversation, tried focusing on other things. As she had finished her coffee, she sat down at one of the tables and gently stroked her sleepy baby's head. William only absently tried to grab her arm and only held onto her sleeve for a couple of seconds before letting go. As Luke continued talking loosely about various things, Lorelai's theory on the caller being Nicole was more and more confirmed.

She didn't pay much attention to what was said, it wasn't until she heard the word 'plumber' enter the conversation that question marks started forming in her head. As Luke hung up, she must have looked curious or something.

- Um, that was Nicole, he explained.

- I figured, Lorelai told him.

He looked as though he was about to ask a question, but he seemed to just let it slide, so Lorelai asked instead.

- What was that about a plumber?

Luke looked uncomfortable, almost guilty in a way, which only made her more curious.

- Is it the apartment, she asked. - Everything looked alright in the bathroom when I was in there.

- No, Luke shook his head. - The apartment is okay. It's... um... It's the house.

- What house, Lorelai asked, confused. - _My_ house?

The logical part of her brain pointed out the unlikeliness that Luke would discuss her house with Nicole, but she was too confused to think logically.

- No, he replied. - Mine.

Both her eyebrows popped up in surprise, like a cartoon character. At times she felt like she could've been a cartoon character. If for not anything else, at least her reactions would be comical.

- Yours, she asked, trying to get her head around what he meant by that.

_When did he get a house?_

- Mine, he repeated. - ...and Nicole's.

- Yours and Nicole's, Lorelai responded, unable to conceal the shock in her voice.

- Yes, he sighed.

- When, she asked, not able to form any long sentences right away.

- A couple of weeks, he shrugged.

- What's a couple?

- Two weeks, Luke clarified.

- Since what, Lorelai asked him. - Since you bought it? Rented it? When are you moving?

- A week ago, Luke said, not meeting her eyes.

Neither one of them was very comfortable with this conversation.

- You moved already? How did I miss this, she asked.

That last question was more directed at herself than him.

- Where, she then asked, understanding she would be seeing more of Nicole now that she would be living with Luke. - Is it far? Is it one of those houses out at the edge of town?

She remembered seeing some 'for sale' signs as she drove to work that morning, maybe it was one of those. She would understand if it was one of them, they were very nice, she remembered thinking. Just the right size for a family. _Oh, no._ Was Nicole pregnant? Was that what had inspired the sudden move? Were she and Luke settling down?

- It's in Litchfield, Luke replied.

The moment he said it, Lorelai had only one question in her mind, repeating itself over and over, like a mantra; _What about William?_ She was beginning to realize the consequences of her choices. She had always pegged Luke as a Stars Hollow resident for life. More than once she had heard the stories on how Luke was reluctant to leave his home. He didn't go away for college; he opened a business just where his father had worked. And never before had she thought that would change. It had been something she could always rely on; that no matter what, Luke would be there. She wondered what would come next. A horrid thought struck her; what if he closed down Luke's? Nicole had convinced him to move, what if that was just the beginning?

- Litchfield, she repeated. - You moved to Litchfield?

- Yes, Luke sighed.

- That's another county, she supplied.

- I know.

- Why, she asked.

- Nicole's dad knew we were looking for a place and he showed us some ads.

- You were looking, Lorelai asked. - So... this was planned?

She glanced over at her sleeping son. He was about as old as Luke and Nicole's current relationship streak. Was that long enough to be committed enough to move in together? To actually _plan_ moving in together?

- Well, we'd mentioned it once and Nicole mentioned it to her dad over Christmas, I think, Luke shrugged. - And he said he'd seen some great deals and we agreed to look into it.

- And Litchfield was the place, Lorelai asked, still not grasping that choice. - You didn't consider any place closer?

- It was a great place, Luke explained. - And if we went looking here, I would end up writing another application to Taylor.

- What about your place? You renovated it so two could live there.

- It's not big enough for us.

- Why, she asked. - Is Nicole pregnant?

She heard herself talking and she wanted more than anything to stop, but she just couldn't let it go. She was confused and angry. The only thing that kept going on repeat in her mind was the knowledge that Luke was abandoning her. No, he wasn't abandoning her. He _had_ abandoned her.

- God, _no_, Luke insisted. - What makes you think that?

- Oh, I don't know, she said. - First you don't know if you wanna go on a cruise, then I come back from Europe and you're married, but _oh, no_ you're already getting divorced, then you're _not_ getting a divorce and two months later you're talking moving in together? Your relationship is moving in hyper speed _all_ over the place. Seriously, if you focused that speed in one direction, it'd be enough to turn back time. If she isn't pregnant by next month I'd be surprised.

As her mouth continued, the stupider she felt. The stupider she felt, the angrier she became and the more she said. It was a vicious circle. Seemingly unstoppable.

- And when were you planning on telling me all this, she continued. - Were you ever?

Luke was gawping. Lorelai could see hints of anger in his face, but she, herself was too worked up to care. Right now she was just delivering blows from the east and west.

- What is it I'm doing now, Luke asked.

- You mentioned Christmas. You were at _my_ house at Christmas. You didn't tell me you were as much as _thinking_ about moving. You _moved_ and you didn't tell me. _When_ was I supposed to know? When I sent a fruit basket up to your apartment and got a 'recipient no longer exists at this address' note from the post office?

- When would you _ever_ send me a fruit basket, Luke asked.

- It's a hypothetical scenario, go with it!

She no longer said anything in this argument, she shouted.

- The apartment is right upstairs, Luke pointed out. - You think I wouldn't see the basket or eventually smell the rotten fruit if I didn't?

- God knows how long that would take, Lorelai countered. - How can you be sure Nicole won't talk you into moving your business closer to your new home? At this rate that will probably be around May. Nicole will start getting cravings and would need a diner right up close, so you can fill her every need.

- Because Litchfield is fresh out of eateries, Luke deadpanned.

He had obviously given up on getting any logic into this 'conversation' they were having and just went with the flow. Lorelai was amazed he hadn't exploded yet. Right now she wished he had. It would be easier to just lash out at someone who lashed back. She wouldn't be feeling as stupid in the morning, if she only got a counterpart in the fight. She would be able to have something real to be angry about.

- They _might_ need a decent burger place, Lorelai continued. - Maybe _that's_ why you move the diner, because it would take too long to bring Nicole a burger over the lunch break.

- Nicole doesn't eat burgers, Luke pointed out.

- And I eat fruit and vegetables daily, Lorelai said, dryly. - That's _why_ it's called 'cravings', Luke. Anything you _don't_ usually eat, _that's_ what you suddenly want. It's frickin' rules of nature or something.

- For the _last_ time, Luke exclaimed. - Nicole's _not_ pregnant. And _no_, she's not gonna _get_ pregnant.

- Trust me, Speedy Gonzales. At this rate, she will be.

- _God_, Luke groaned. - And since when were _my_ relationships _your_ business?

- Since my so-called _best_ friend decided to skip town on me and not even _tell_ me he was leaving. That's when!

- I'm _not_ skipping town on you, Lorelai.

- And you were standing here, talking about babysitting, Lorelai continued, as though Luke hadn't spoken. - Making me think you're still around and all the time you were living in Litchfield!

- That doesn't mean I won't make good on my promise, Luke insisted. - I'm _here_, Lorelai. I'm still your friend.

- No, Lorelai shook her head. - Friends _tell_ each other these things!

As she said it, a vicious chill went down her spine. The _one_ thing she hadn't told him, weighing heavily in her chest. She couldn't stay. Having just yelled at him for what he had done made her feel like the world's biggest hypocrite. Suddenly gathering her things, she gently picked her son up from the bouncer.

- What are you doing, Luke asked, his voice slightly milder.

Of course, that only made the guilt in her chest worse. She had to get out. Right now she had to get out.

- I can't stay, she said, her voice unable to express anything calmly.

After putting William's snowsuit on, she carried the baby with her out the door and proceeded to put him back into his stroller. Luke followed her to the door.

- Lorelai, he called out.

Not even looking up, she just pushed the stroller in direction of her house.

TBC


	62. Not everyone likes bells

AN: Ah, it feels nice to be writing again after spending a couple of days doing nothing but studying. I think I might've managed to pass the exam, but we will just have to wait and see for that one. On a positive note however I did manage an A in another subject, so I'm generally in a good mood. And to my beta, Steph: you rock!

**smileyGGfan** - Well, you didn't get the hint this time around, but maybe with this chapter or the next one you will. Sorry to disappoint you, but as much fun you think being spoiled would be, you're not gonna. I'm still waiting for more good stuff in the coming eps in the states before I go watch the "Chris and Looor show", yuck! And yeah, I too am happy that the alerts are functioning again!

**Nubes** - Trust me, Patty is still on Lorelai's case.

**Ele** - I think your buying the bunny-blanket for your cousin has to be the biggest compliment I've gotten yet. Let me know how he likes it :)

**rollsdownhill** - I think our minds are more stubborn than Luke and Lorelai combined. It never fails that I start trying to come up with things to do, like cleaning, so I don't have to study. It's crazy, but it's true. I hate studying... lol

**Asta-Gilmore** - Thank you and right back at you :) I too love that episode and every time I watch the church scene I wish over and over again that something magical can happen so that the reverent doesn't come walking in. Of course it never works, but doesn't hurt to try.

**GiGi892** - Nah, I love long bits, but I do like the fact that you divided the text into paragraphs this time... lol. Let me know if you do come over, maybe I can give you some helpful suggestions on where to go and what to do. I've pretty much been all over my country. Norway is okay enough. We too have our problems and we have our good parts. I do mostly enjoy living here. It's my home and with the exception of UK, I couldn't imagine myself moving abroad. I'm glad you're not writing spoilers in your reviews. I practically live at spoiler sites, so I know what is coming next, but I'm glad you're not mentioning any so that you don't accidentally spoil someone else.

**Severien** - Just stick to the story and we'll get there.

* * *

Lorelai had known when she started her new job that juggling that as well as her responsibilities for both William and the Dragonfly would be anything but easy. What she hadn't anticipated was the vicious fight she'd be having with Luke already on her first day. It hadn't ended when she'd ran out of the diner. That had only been the end of round one. Surprising Luke and partly herself, Lorelai had entered the diner the very next day, both because she needed the caffeine boost for her first _real_ day at work and also because she wanted to honor the promise she'd made herself when William had been born to make sure father and son at least saw each other once a day.

Not wanting her coming into the diner to turn into another ugly scene, Lorelai'd pretended they hadn't just had a big fight the evening before. At first it had been easy, as they hadn't had a single spectator observing their little... or not so little ugly moment. The town didn't show any sign of surprise to see her there and gave her about the same amount of attention as they gave her any other day. So Lorelai had seated herself at her usual table, the one that now mysteriously always seemed to be vacant for her sake and placed William in 'Bouncy' as Lorelai had come to name the chair with the baby bouncer on it. Not a very creative choice of name, but as she had used it a couple of times, lacking a better suggestion for it, it had simply just stuck. Lane had come over to fill her coffee and while being there, taking a two minute break to coo over how big William was getting before taking her order. It had all seemed like usual until Luke emerged from the kitchen. Lorelai wouldn't describe the following event as 'hell breaking loose', but more like 'hell freezing over'... literally. The temperature of the room had sunk several degrees in one long, icy stare.

Although Luke had more than once thrown customers out the door, Lorelai knew for a fact that he wouldn't physically do that to her; baby or no baby. She even bet that if she waited long enough she'd even get her order, but she could feel that she was less than welcome at the establishment. With people not having noticed Luke's attitude towards her, at least not yet, Lorelai had decided to leave before her order was done, telling Lane she didn't realize it was so late.

Over the next couple of days there'd been no contact between the two of them. Lorelai passed Luke's on her way to and from work. She didn't go in, but pretended to be in a hurry, which wasn't really a lie, seeing as she had more than enough to do and Luke pretended he didn't see her walk by. When Lorelai found Luke outside her house on Saturday morning, after a night of heavy snowfall, shoveling her walk, she'd assumed this was his way of showing her the fight was over and she'd gone out to meet him. Round two, which Lorelai had appropriately named 'the cold war' had ended. The fight however lived on to start a round three, which ended in a shouting match. Nothing was resolved. The next day the bells, which had been repaired on behalf of the late Stan Green's will, started to chime... on the hour, every hour. That, however, was what Lorelai would describe as 'hell breaking loose'.

With William's usual crankiness whenever woken up abruptly, Lorelai wasn't remotely surprised when she realized her son was completely unable to sleep in the vicinity of the bells during their active part of the day, which would be anywhere in Stars Hollow, once every half an hour between five am to midnight. The first day went hardest on William who spent most of the day crying in his frantic mother's arms. For Lorelai it was like walking in the shoes of a mother of a colicky child, making her grateful for her ability to pass on her iron cast stomach to her young. Long before the end of the day both mother and son were miserable. And that was only after experiencing _half_ a day's torment.

After several days in what couldn't be far from what hell had to be like, Lorelai found herself yet again abruptly awakened by the combination of the loud bells and her son's desperate cry. Who needed an alarm clock when you had a baby/church bell combo?

Of course it could be even worse. According to Sookie, Davey could even predict when the next bell would ring. Lorelai didn't even want to try to imagine her son with such psychic abilities. For the first time since she agreed to take the job, Lorelai was grateful for the distance between Stars Hollow and the Maiden's Teacup. Even though _she_ still felt like crap on toast from beginning to the end, at least William got the opportunity to sleep without the intruding sound of the bells waking him up every half an hour. Lorelai was sure that was partly the reason why William still didn't know the bells' pattern yet.

Scooping up her baby boy, rocking him gently in her arms while the bells continued to chime, Lorelai caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Although she had done her best to keep up her appearance, since people wouldn't exactly trust a maid who looked as though she had just crawled through a couple of trash containers to clean their rooms, she still looked like crap come every morning. Or more accurately she _wished_ she looked like crap, because that would actually be an improvement. When a shower was a luxury for a single parent on an everyday basis, this was something different altogether.

It was Thursday, which meant Lorelai hadn't had the opportunity to take a shower for four days now. With having to be on constant baby alert while being in the bathroom, she'd been forced to do all hygienic maintenance on herself by washcloths and a sink full of water. It also meant that after today, she would only have one more day at work before it was back to bell hell weekend. The thought was too horrible to imagine. William was still whimpering from the intrusion of his sleep. Sookie was right; the five am bell was the worst. Knowing she would go completely mental if this torture continued much longer, Lorelai made a decision. Dressing herself and William in whatever was closest, not even bothering to look in a mirror, she carried her son downstairs. She could skip her own breakfast of course, but William couldn't, so she grabbed his snow suit from the hanger by the door and carefully prepped it while holding her son to her breast. Once out the door, she didn't bother with the car or the stroller. Crossing the square quickly, she made it outside of the diner.

Luckily Luke was up and about in the diner, turning chairs over. On the counter, Lorelai spotted a couple of trays of pastries. Trying the door, Lorelai was happy to find it unlocked. The minor bell rang above the door as she entered and Luke looked up, meeting her gaze. If she had known it would only take appearing in the diner right before half past five in the morning, looking like the lovechild of Cruella DeVille and a scarecrow to end this fight, Lorelai would have done this a lot sooner. Luke probably didn't have to look for even a nanosecond to understand she was absolutely miserable. Her untamed hair, her mismatched wardrobe, the bags under her eyes the size of tea bags. And if that wasn't enough, William's immediate reaction when the bells once again started chiming, did the rest. As she comforted her crying baby, Lorelai looked pleadingly at Luke.

- Help me break the bells, she asked.

- I'll get my toolbox, Luke replied.

For bypassers, this exchange would only barely raise their brows, and only if said bypassers weren't of Stars Hollow origin. In Luke and Lorelai speak, however, this was pretty much the equivalent of 'I'm sorry' and 'I forgive you'. Lorelai wasn't one for apologising; not when it came to a big fight. For some reason, when there was a situation demanding something in direction of an apology, Lorelai would almost always freeze up and not get the words out. It didn't mean she wasn't sorry, deep down. She had just gotten used to not saying it in any way she meant it. With her parents it had almost always been a crass kind of 'sorry', a word she used when she most certainly _wasn't_ sorry. With her daughter, there hadn't been any real need of the word. First off because she was, despite all popular beliefs, the authority figure of the household. Second of all, because Lorelai and Rory had never had a major fight. Fights, yes. In the recent years, they had had a couple of fights, but none severe enough to require an apology from mother to daughter.

Having never been able to utter a heartfelt apology before, Lorelai was unable to now. It seemed like Luke had accepted that. That he understood. Either that or he was one hell of a forgiving guy. Assuming Luke had placed his toolbox in the back room or something, Lorelai had stayed behind in the diner. When Luke didn't re-emerge right away, Lorelai went behind the curtain to see what was taking so long. When she didn't see him anywhere, she opened the door to the storage room, where she quickly saw he wasn't. Making her way up the stairs, she wondered why Luke would still keep his toolbox upstairs seeing as he'd told her only a week earlier that he'd moved. However, as she testingly knocked on the door, Luke's voice answered.

- _I'll be right there._

As the phrase was followed by a large crash, Lorelai opened the door and went in, not expecting the apartment to look so _normal_. A couple of dishes occupied the sink. A bowl which most likely just had roomed some sort of cereal, knowing Luke it was probably All Bran or some other flavorless healthy crap, still decorated the kitchen table. She spotted a used flannel shirt hanging over one of the chairs. But the thing that caught her eye the most, before spotting Luke on the floor picking up tools which had spilled out of the toolbox, hence the noise, was the unmade bed which indicated Luke either wasn't the tidy, organized person Lorelai had always imagined him to be, _or_ he had recently slept in in his own bed.

- I told you, I'd be right there, Luke told her.

- And it was followed by a crash, indicating you either were hurt or could use a hand, Lorelai reasoned.

- Uh huh, Luke said, but seemed to appreciate her help in gathering up the spilled tools.

Lorelai didn't mention her observations to him, as she still needed to process what this really meant, but it took them only a couple of minutes to reach the church, knowing they only had about twenty minutes before they would once again suffer the bells. However as they tried the door, they realized it was locked.

- Are they serious, Lorelai exclaimed. - What if I need to do something holy?

- Like commit vandalism, Luke asked, dryly as he inspected the lock. - I think I have to break the lock.

- No, wait, Lorelai said, as he reached for his toolbox.

- I'm not breaking in the door, Luke told her. - This isn't the movies, where you can kick any door and it immediately gives in. Those are hollow stunt doors masked to be the real thing. This however is a good old solid oak door. The only thing that'll happen if I kick it is my toe will break.

- Geez, you know a lot about doors, Lorelai rolled her eyes. - And for your information I wasn't gonna ask you to kick it, although that _would_ be a fun sight to see. Just, let me try one thing first, so we don't damage anything if we don't have to.

- You do realize we are here to _break_ the bells, Luke pointed out.

Lorelai ignored him and opened her wallet, while balancing William on her hip.

- What are you doing, Luke asked.

- Shh, shut up and hold William for me, Lorelai told him, handing Luke the baby as she took out her old gym card and started fiddling with the lock. - All those years of watching Hart to Hart are about to pay off.

- What's that?

- My gym card, Lorelai replied, matter-of-factly.

- You joined a gym, Luke asked, raising his brows.

- Geez, it's not like I joined a cult, Lorelai said, rolling her eyes.

- No, a cult I'd expect, Luke teased.

- What's so weird about me joining a gym, Lorelai wanted to know.

- You do know what they do there, right?

- Ignoring you now, Lorelai muttered, concentrating on the lock.

- When did you join, Luke demanded.

- After I had Rory, Lorelai replied. - I wanted to lose the pregnancy weight.

- And did you go, Luke asked.

- God, no, Lorelai chuckled. - I was way too fat.

Before Luke had time to make a comment, the door slid open in front of both of them.

- Hey, I did it, Lorelai exclaimed, proudly. - Who said you don't learn usefull things from television?

- Just get inside, Luke said, handing her both their son and a flashlight.

- Oy, Lorelai remarked, as dust filled her nose, threatening to make her sneeze. - Would it kill God to dust?

- Okay, now just hold the flashlight, Luke told her. - Do not do any moving spotlight gags and point it at me and yell 'Freeze, drop your weapons.'

- You left out 'making a dirty hand puppet show', Lorelai pointed out.

- Whatever do you teach your kids, Luke remarked, dryly.

- Oh, you know, Lorelai replied. - Playing with the content of the medicine cabinet, running with scissors, the usual. His hand is still too little to hold real scissors, so we're currently training with a nail clipper.

- Well, as long as you have a plan, Luke remarked.

Lorelai smiled. It was nice to see the good old banter return between them.

- So, she said. - What's the plan here? I'm a bit sleep-deprived, so in my mind I envisioned whacking the bells really hard with a hammer.

- You don't break bells with a hammer, Luke reasoned.

- Well, I originally thought sledgehammer, Lorelai told him. - But in my vision it was me holding it, so I modified it to just a hammer.

- Unless you planned to wreck the whole church as well, a sledgehammer wouldn't do it either, Luke told her.

- Okay, then I'm out, Lorelai shrugged. - Tell me your plan, Clyde.

- Well, I was thinking we could just jam the turnbuckle, or wedge the main mechanism, just for fun disconnect a few of the clappers, Luke shrugged. - Contrary to popular belief you don't have to break every bell. If you just damage a couple, say the tierce and the prime, you pretty much ruin the set.

- Wow, look at you being the top of your class at hunchback school, Lorelai teased.

- Well, some people can wait their whole lives waiting for the bells to fall into disrepair, Luke said. - Sometimes they just need a push.

It didn't take but a minute before the real message in the sentence hit her.

- _No way_, she said in disbelief. - _You_ broke the bells!

- You're welcome, Luke chuckled, as he opened the toolbox, picking out a couple of the tools.

- What are you doing, Lorelai asked.

- Well, it's a little narrow up there, so I'm just taking the tools I need.

- Need any help, Lorelai offered.

- No thanks, Luke told her. - You have William to look after, just make sure to hold the light steady and this shouldn't take too long.

- Well, no, Lorelai chuckled. - Not when we have a professional bell breaker in the house, I'm sorry... church.

- Aw, geez.

Luke seeked cover up in the narrow bell tower. For a while, all Lorelai could hear were the clinking from above and the silent echoes of said clinking. William had fallen asleep against her shoulder. She, however, avoided any form of support, neither sitting nor standing as it would only lead to her dosing off as well. To keep herself awake, she paced the floor in the vicinity of the bell tower.

- Okay, she finally said. - What are you doing up there?

- I'm breaking bells, Luke replied, dryly.

- Well, way to state the obvious, Lorelai called back, annoyed. - But what are you doing, exactly.

- I already told you that as well.

- Yes, but you said it in complicated tech geek lingo.

- It wasn't complicated. I described straight forward what I was gonna do.

- Well, you're speaking to a tired audience, so dumb it down a little.

- How dumb are we talking here, Luke asked.

- Well, I'm very tired, so troll?

- What?

- Troll, you know.

- I don't know.

- _Troll_, Lorelai empathized. - Come on. _Harry Potter_? Point and grunt...? Geez, crack a book every now and then.

- Why do you want to know anyway?

- Because I need to keep myself from the temptation of lying down in one of these pews and snore the day away.

- Since sleeping on hard wood is so very comfortable, Luke deadpanned.

- I hear it does wonders for your back, Lorelai quipped. - ...and, oh hey, _way_ dirty!

- Took you long enough, Luke remarked.

- I'm sleep deprived, caffeine deprived and you expect me to keep up the beat?

- Guess not, Luke chuckled.

- Hey, the clinking stopped, Lorelai noticed. - Why did the clinking stop?

- Because I'm done, Luke said, re-emerging from the narrow staircase.

- Already, Lorelai asked. - You just went up there.

- It wasn't really that complicated of a muck up job.

- And still, you never did tell me what you did.

- Well, I don't speak troll, Luke shrugged. - And I was short of a translator.

- I guess you can fill me in tomorrow. I think I have to go.

- Yeah, Luke nodded. - You probably should get some more sleep.

- Oh, no, Lorelai shook her head. - William and I have a long exciting day at work ahead of us, so no rest for the wicked. Well, William will be sleeping. He usually conks out while I work, but at least now I can nap when I get back.

She frowned.

- Unless they find a way to fix it.

- They won't, Luke promised. - I also shorted out the wiring leading up to the bells, so even if they do manage to fix it, they won't have anything to run them on.

- My knight strikes again, Lorelai sighed.

- Which one was I again?

- Did we decide, Lorelai asked. - God, I'm tired, I need coffee.

- Well, come back to the diner, and I'll put a pot on, Luke suggested.

- As heavenly as that sounds, Lorelai sighed. - I have to go get ready for work. William's been fed, but there's still a million other things he needs. As much as I wish I had time for a little pick-me-up. One thing has to go. It can't be me or William, so the coffee's it.

- Well, here's a crazy thought, but why don't I take him for the day?

- What? Huh, Lorelai muttered, her head snapping up. - Did you just offer to watch him for a whole day?

- Yeah, Luke shrugged.

- I didn't hallucinate it?

Luke shook his head.

- But what about the diner?

- I have Ceasar and Lane coming in today, Luke told her. - I'll be fine. It'll give you a chance to rest up.

- I'm working today.

- Yeah, Luke shrugged. - But this way, you'll be less distracted and you can take a nap afterwards.

Lorelai wanted to say yes, more than anything she wanted to. It was perfect. The coffee, the nap, the father and son spending the day together, but even in her sleepy daze, the practical mother side of her pushed through.

- Are you sure, she asked. - I know it might seem easy, but a baby is a lot of work, Luke. A lot of work. There's bottles and diapers. He has a rash now, so there's also a cream involved. Are you sure you're up for all of that for a whole day? I mean, how much have you actually been around babies? Have you ever given a bottle or changed a diaper?

- Who do you think took care of Jess in his first weeks after Jimmy ran, Luke replied, with a pointed look. - You don't have to worry, I'll be fine.

- I think, Lorelai sighed. - If I didn't think I'd fall asleep doing it, I'd hug you.

- Come on, Luke chuckled. - Lets get you some coffee.

- No lecture, Lorelai asked.

- Not today, Luke promised.

TBC


	63. The importance of having Bunny

AN: First a little notice to every ficwriter out there. Me and a friend of mine is organizing an LL baby-ficathon, which is open to everyone, regardless of where they post. The link to more details and the sign-up sheet can be found at the top of my profile. We'd love to see more people join :) 

AN2: As always a great shoutout to my wonderful beta, Steph. Also, people, I've made a new LL vid, well half is LL and the other half is my other favorite pairing; Simon/Kaylee from Firefly. Will put a link to that in my profile as well. Okay, so on to shoutouts. 

**smileyGfan** - It's about time you got it right (ok, only teasing). Yes, the first half of the season sucks (except the Luke storyline, which I like). I have started watching again since they've started airing the episodes over here. I found myself actually enjoying episode 3, well, except the ending. I will never manage to enjoy a single scene involving Chris, but Lorelai and Michel was fun and disturbingly enough I found them a tad too cute... what's wrong with me? I think maybe I'm passing her off at any guy so I don't have to endure Lorpey. Yuck! 

**bianca89** - I'm sorry, but the birthmark thing is a bit too cliché for me. It's what soaps do and I do think people would like it if I didn't make this series more "soapy" (not that I think it is, but I've read the complaints, people, lol). 

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - Just happy to see you return, though I miss your long reviews (pouts). I found your anger going in one direction and then turning in the other amusing, because that was exactly the point. 

**Caffeination** - I'm glad that I'm making Lorelai likable for you. Hopefully DR will pull Lorelai in that direction again in the coming epised (yes, I'm allowed to hope. Hope is good). Sorry about not showing the snow shoveling, but I felt no need to make a scene that's so similar to the one on the show, just for the purpose of showing it. I'm glad that I am writing the mother aspect of the story in a satisfying way. I mean, I've done pregnancy fics since I started writing fics, but I'm literally ashamed on how imature my take on the subject was. It's probably a bit hypocritical of me now to complain about that when reading other people's fics. Lets hope they grow and learn, just like I did. 

**gwen** - I'm not mad at you. You're entitled to your opinion as I am to mine. I understand your views, but I know my plans. Hopefully they will be of satisfaction for you when you get to read what's in store. 

**Severien** - I would recommend watching the Luke/April scenes. That is the one thing this season that I think is positive, the building of the father/daughter relationship. Lane/Zack isn't too bad. I find Rory's things boring and Lorelai needs to get rid of Dopey asap.

* * *

It was far into the afternoon and Luke was enjoying the odd quiet of his apartment, reading the paper, every so often glancing over to his bed, which William was lying in the middle of, sleeping soundly with a little blanket over him, clutching on to the silly blue bunny as though it was the most precious thing in the world. The same hand was lying close up to the baby's face and the edge of the thumb touched his lips still, as the boy had been sucking his thumb when he'd fallen asleep. Luke knew Lorelai had said it was perfectly safe for William to be lying there, as he hadn't learned to roll sideways or anything else that would end in him falling off the bed yet, but Luke still felt the need to glance up every five to ten seconds just to make sure. 

The apartment looked more cluttered than ever, as Lorelai had pretty much instructed him to bring a lot of things, while sipping the coffee Luke had made her and getting ready for work. Many of which Luke wouldn't deem necessary for a couple of hours of babysitting. Lorelai had aggravatingly muttered about not having a portable crib for occasions like these. Luke, however, had been slightly grateful for it as he had enough to carry as it was. The bag was one thing, diapers, change of clothes, formula, bottles, all the necessities, which was already huge. In addition, Lorelai had ordered him to pack the baby gym, baby toys, all in bright red, yellow and blue, and some other things which filled another bag. Truth be told, Luke felt more than a little bit silly, walking back to his diner, looking as though he was venturing on a two week trip at least, when all he really was doing was babysitting for a couple of hours. 

However, Lorelai's many crazy instructions had turned out not to be so crazy after all, as Luke had begun to feel at a loss on what to do when he had given the baby a bottle, at the instructed time, then changed him. William then proceeded to sleep for about three hours before waking up for another bottle. It was after that that the baby gym had come in handy. William seemed to really enjoy observing the dangling objects above his head from his position on the blanket on the floor. When Ceasar ran up to beg him to come down and help with the lunch rush as Lane wasn't finished at school until sometime into the afternoon, the baby monitor that Lorelai had made him take was a lifesaver. Of course, Luke didn't manage to stay downstairs more than a couple of minutes at a time, feeling the need to check up on the kid every so often; a feeling that didn't decrease no matter how many times he was assured that William remained in the exact same spot he left him. 

He noticed in between his trips upstairs that Babette and Miss Patty was eyeing him with great interest, but decided to just ignore them altogether, as it really wasn't their business if he was babysitting William or not. He hated how the two women seemed to be reading into every single thing in town. Luckily by the time he'd noticed it the diner had returned to it's normal pace and Ceasar could handle it on his own again. He'd given William another bottle and noticed the heavy eyelids slowly closing and opening again, then closing. William had seemed reluctant to go to sleep, but the battle to stay awake was lost quickly. Luke guessed the reason to be several nights of interrupted sleep. 

William had been asleep for a couple of hours. Lorelai had told Luke to let William sleep for as long as the boy managed, but to wake him if it went on as long as five hours, so he wasn't completely starving by the time he woke up. At first, after checking that the boy was lying there safely, Luke had made himself some lunch. Afterwards he had contemplated maybe clearing away some of the toys that were scattered around the floor, but had decided not to do more than picking them up and placing them on the couch. It would probably not be until sometime in the evening before Lorelai showed up, at least Luke hoped so, as she needed some rest, and without the baby gym and the other things Lorelai had made him pack, Luke would be at a loss on what to do. 

There weren't really that many activities to do with a baby. After feeding, changing and burping, there was pretty much only left holding the kid and letting him look around the room. Some people sang, but Luke really wasn't a singer He couldn't remember the last time he'd sung anything. It probably was from when he was very little himself. Of course there was the option of talking. But aside from Luke not really being comfortable talking when there was no one to respond and his general monosyllabic speech pattern, he just didn't know how to address a baby. Babytalk was out of the question. Aside from finding it disturbing, Luke felt as though people were talking down to a baby when they were using babytalk to approach him or her. Luke sometimes wondered if the phenomena was a woman thing or a parent thing. Would he one day be seen talking nonsense to his kid while making silly faces to entertain him or her? He just couldn't imagine it. 

William interrupted his trail of thoughts by giving a sleepy sigh and beginning once again to suck on his thumb. Luke went over to the bed to check if there was any indication of the kid waking up, but William only looked as asleep as ever. 

Luke hadn't even hesitated when he offered to babysit. But he felt as though he should have. Or at least hearing himself make the offer should've surprised him, but it didn't. Luke Danes wasn't exactly a guy known for his tolerance towards babies or children in general. He usually avoided them and generally felt bothered whenever someone brought their kids into the diner. Mostly because they seemed to only do two things; scream at the top of their lungs or make a mess. And Luke could really do without both. It wasn't a childhood thing, as he'd been too young to really remember his little sister as a baby. They weren't really that far apart in age, just by a couple of years and you never remembered your first years on the planet anyway. Their parents had wanted it that way. However, sometimes with the way Liz was constantly depending on him, it sometimes felt as though she was much younger than she really was. It had been that way when they were kids and it was the same way now. Luke was still waiting for the day where he would see Liz without it being another one of her cries for help. 

Only once had Luke let himself believe things would be different. He had been working in the hardware store one morning when he'd received a call from Jimmy, informing him that Liz was in labor. It wasn't that he'd thought Jimmy was good for Liz, on the contrary, he had thought Jimmy was a loser from the very first moment he saw him. But he'd truly believed that Liz would pull herself together for the sake of her baby. Having sole responsibility for the store that day, Luke had told Jimmy he'd come to the hospital after closing up. William had been suffering a bad day with his illness that day and had reluctantly stayed behind when Luke took the truck and drove in to New York. Jess had been a quick baby, so when Luke finally walked into room two-eleven where Liz was staying, he'd found the young parents cooing over the baby Liz proudly introduced to her brother as Jess Mariano. 

Luke didn't hold his nephew at once. It wasn't that Liz had offered and Luke had refused, just that the kid had been snoozing in his mother's arms and it would just be insensitive of them to disturb him. When Jess finally nodded off, Jimmy had leaned over and kissed Liz on the forehead and promised to come right back with a pack of diapers. Liz had been tired, but for the hours before she understood Jimmy had just bailed on her, she'd occupied herself with the baby. But when the realization hit her, it hit hard and Luke had to step up to make sure his nephew was properly taken care of. When Liz was released from the hospital, Luke had insisted on her coming home to recover. 

In the two weeks that followed Luke had his hands full. He managed everything in the store that his father was too weak to do himself, as well as making sure that Jess was being changed and fed. Liz spent her first days in bed, almost refusing to do anything. Luke let her for the first few, thinking she needed the time to recover from the birth and the shock that had followed. However, when she showed no sign of turning around after three days in bed, Luke issued an ultimatum that either she started taking responsibility for her son, or she began helping out in the store, as he couldn't do everything himself. After that, Liz changed. She got out of bed the next day and even though Luke still did some of the work, Liz was slowly pulling herself together. It didn't take long before she packed up her and Jess' things and returned to New York to continue her life. Luke saw his nephew once in a while after that, but only when Liz needed him to bail her out of a tricky situation. 

Thinking about his nephew, Luke noticed that William actually shared a couple of similarities with baby Jess. It wasn't anything big, just some minor expressions and gestures that he remembered seeing Jess make as a baby. Luke chuckled when he also noticed similar shaped dimples. Babies really _did_ look a lot like each other. Since he had always worked in between helping Liz with Jess, Luke hadn't really seen much of the quiet times the babies also offered. With William those moments had been kinda frequent, since he and Lorelai interacted daily; and these days wherever Lorelai went William followed, which was only natural with her being a single mother. Luke found he liked the quiet moments. In general, he hadn't found William to be the nuisance he found most babies to be, not even in the slightest. But then again, he hadn't found Rory to be either. At first he'd thought that had something to do with him not meeting Rory until she was about ten, but now with how he found himself easily handling William, he wondered if maybe it had something to do with Lorelai. 

Before Luke had time to contemplate the subject further, William started stirring and Luke found himself looking into the boy's baby blues, which, Luke noticed, had remained as blue as the day he'd been born. The baby seemed surprised to see another face than his mother, but he didn't cry. Before Luke had always found a baby's stare to seem empty, but he figured that to be from his not looking too closely, because William's stare was definitely a pondering one. Luke didn't doubt for a second that the baby's young mind probably held more intelligence than the country's current president. William did have that look about him, as though he was pondering something heavy duty, like defusing a bomb, or something. After what felt like an hour, but probably wasn't longer than a couple of minutes tops, William's face broke into a smile, a soft gurgle escaping his lips as he reached his arms up. 

Not having a better suggestion on what to do, Luke complied and picked the boy up, not noticing right away that the bunny remained on the bed. Holding a newborn was easy, but as Luke noticed, holding a three month old wasn't. William object to being cradled in Luke's arms, not by crying, but by squirming visibly and pulling on the collar of Luke's shirt. Luke ended up shifting the baby around several times before the two of them saw eye to eye on the position. 

Reaching behind him, while holding William with only one arm, Luke retrieved from the pile on the couch one of William's toys, a big plastic keychain with brightly colored plastic keys on it. William took the keys with newfound curiosity, despite probably having already played with them a hundred times before, and stuck one of them in his mouth to taste. Pulling it out again, William tried tasting another key, before tasting the actual key chain and then the toy was dropped to the floor, its existence forgotten just moments later. 

Luke gave him another toy to explore and glanced over at the clock he had hanging in the kitchen area and realized it wouldn't be long before the boy would be hungry. William had already stuck his new toy in the mouth to taste. Deciding he didn't want to wait until William started crying for food, as that wouldn't really be good for him, Luke gently placed him down in the baby gym. He figured that once William got tired of his current toy he would occupy himself with the objects dangling above him, giving him plenty of time to heat up a bottle for him. William protested slightly of being put down again, but accepted it and turned his attention back to the toy. Luke was right about the first thing. Not even two minutes later, William lost the grip on the toy as he waved his arms around and sent the yellow colored hand with a big hole through it flying halfway across the floor in the direction of Luke, but instead of investigating the objects dangling above his head, William started to cry. 

Guessing that maybe William hadn't quite finished with the hand yet, Luke picked it up, quickly ran it under the sink and dried it off and handed it back to the boy. This, however didn't seem to calm him, so Luke went to find a new toy for William, but when he didn't take it and just continued crying, Luke felt at a loss. Maybe the boy was hungrier than he had first anticipated. 

- Shh, he murmured. - The bottle will be done in a couple of minutes. 

He felt silly talking to the baby, as it wasn't as though William knew what Luke had just said, but he just hoped that maybe his voice would soothe him. William now had large tear drops appearing in the corner of his eyes. Luke tried more toys, but William just didn't want to take any of them. So, Luke stood up, trying to return to the kitchen area and check if the water was boiling yet. Not even a bubble. Now was the time he wished he had a water boiler. When he'd first seen them in stores he'd found it ridiculous that people would pay good money for an item to heat their water quicker when they already had a stove, but now he seriously wished he'd gotten one. Williams cry didn't decrease; the boy's face was now red. So he tried picking the boy up again to see if he'd maybe calm down a little. The volume decreased slightly, but William didn't stop. The diaper wasn't wet and Luke couldn't smell hints of any other business having been done. Luke had half a mind to call Lorelai for suggestions as he was running out ideas, but he knew that she needed her sleep, especially if she was dealing with this on a daily basis. His respect for the woman went up five points on the scale. 

Knowing he shouldn't have a baby around hot liquids, Luke had to put him back down before checking on the water. It was then he spotted the bunny lying on his bed and remembered Lorelai mentioning to him how important that was for William. He didn't think it would work, but at this point he'd try anything, so he fetched the bunny and tried giving it to William. The effect of it was amazing. William grabbed the bunny immediately by the foot, his thumb finding his mouth and his eyes closing. The cry reduced itself to simply sobs, which again turned into hick-ups. As William continued sucking his thumb, his free fingers graced the silky tag of the bunny. Luke sighed, relieved and went to check on the water. 

Glancing over his shoulder at William every so often, Luke turned the stove off and put the bottle into the water, picking it up every so often to check the temperature on his wrist. When the bottle finally had the right temperature, Luke knew he'd made the right decision to prepare the bottle when he did. William eagerly gulped down two thirds of the milk, which was more than what Lorelai had told him William usually ate. When the bottle was done, William needed a diaper change. Luke fetched the bag and pulled out a clean diaper, the washcloth Lorelai had insisted on him packing, despite him pointing out that he had washcloths, then pulled out the cream Lorelai had mentioned. The rash wasn't big, but it was there and it was obvious that William didn't like the cream as he whimpered slightly when Luke put it on, but it was forgotten a couple of minutes later when Luke had finished putting the new diaper on and picked him up. He carried William with one arm and picked the dirty diaper up with the other and threw it in the trash bin. 

Luke had assumed that was it until the next diaper change or bottle, but then he felt a warm sensation on his shoulder. Glancing sideways, he saw that William had just spit up the extra milk he drank. Now the extra change of clothes came in handy as William hadn't just spit up on Luke's shirt, but all over his own as well. Luke chuckled when he realized he'd actually used every single item that Lorelai had him pack. Never in a million years would he have thought that would happen. After William had been changed, again, Luke just ran a wet washcloth over his own shirt, knowing very well William could spit up on him again, so why bother changing? 

An hour later Luke was sitting on the couch, entertaining William by giving him one toy after another. He'd discovered that if he just alternated a little he could give William toys he had played with earlier. But eventually William lost interest in them and started looking around for other things instead. Just as William reached and grabbed Luke by the nose, there was a knock on the door. 

- Come in, Luke answered in a nasal voice as William had just then decided to squeeze his nose. 

- Hey, Lorelai said, quietly, as she opened the door. - Is he up? How did it go, today? 

William must not have heard his mother, as right at that moment Luke's blue cap was all the boy seemed to be interested in. He tried to grab it, only there was no edge to hold on to with the cap being on backwards. Lorelai stopped dead in her tracks at the sight. 

- I think that just answered my question, she said, as she regained her ability to speak. 

- He was grabbing my nose when you knocked, Luke informed her. 

Lorelai simply nodded and smiled at the information. 

- I thought you sounded a bit weird just now, she chuckled. - So, what have the two of you been doing all day? Has he slept much? 

William gurgled at the sight of her and Luke handed the boy back to his mother, who was happy to take him. He still thought she looked tired, but he decided to let it go. 

- He slept two times, Luke told her. - First for three hours and then for about four. I gave him three bottles, the last one about an hour and a half ago. 

- Which time did he spit up on you, Lorelai asked, nodding towards his shirt. 

- An hour ago, Luke answered. - He drank about two thirds of the bottle. 

- Well, that explains it, Lorelai chuckled. 

- Yeah, Luke shrugged. - But, what about you? 

- What about me, Lorelai asked confused. 

- Did you get some sleep? 

- I did, Lorelai nodded, giving him a smile. - Thank you. I really needed it. 

- You know, Luke said. - You could've slept longer, I would've managed. 

- I can see that, Lorelai noted. - But I just couldn't sleep any longer, so I thought I might as well come and relieve you. 

William grabbed a lock of Lorelai's hair with his little hand and stuck the thumb in his mouth. Lorelai smiled and lifted the boy up to kiss his temple. 

- I really missed William today, she said, softly. - I know it was only for a couple of hours, but it still felt weird being away from him. 

- Well, I guess that's just natural, Luke shrugged. - When you're used to taking care of someone for so long, it's hard to let go, even if it's just for a couple of hours. 

- When did you become such an expert, Lorelai asked, jokingly. 

- Well, I guess it's something like what I went through when dad finally was admitted to the hospital. I mean, I didn't really take care of him, I took care of the store and cooked his meals. He was a very independent and stubborn man. 

- Looks to me like he passed that on, Lorelai stated. 

- Yeah, Luke chuckled. - But like you know, in the end he had to cave in. I still snuck him dinner every day, but at other meals I didn't always have the opportunity to even see him, since someone had to mind the store and we couldn't afford hiring anyone. 

- That must've been hard, Lorelai muttered, throatily. 

She absently began gently stroking the back of her son's head, which was rested against the crook of her neck. Luke noticed how the boy was nearly snoozing. Oblivious to his parents' serious conversation topic, William let out a big yawn and buried his head further in Lorelai's neck, continuing sucking his thumb. Luke chuckled at the sight. 

- Looks like someone's sleepy, Lorelai whispered, softly with a smile, the previous conversation topic completely forgotten by the both of them. 

- Want me to pack up his things for you, Luke asked. 

- That'd be great, Lorelai nodded. - Again, thank you for going through all this trouble. 

- Not at all, Luke assured her. - He's a great kid. 

- Yeah, Lorelai agreed. - He's the best. 

TBC 


	64. Thursday Night's alright for Fighting

AN: Okay, so I have invented a new word "shipism" after reading the viciousness that's happening at FanForum's spoiler thread. It seems like there's a war going on between LL-fans and RL-fans and all it takes to be attacked there is for them to know you're a JJ. In case people wonder what "shipism" means, think "rasism" and I think you'll get it.

AN 2: Kudos to Steph for the beta. And Happy Birthday to **LukeNLorelaifanatic**, I hope this is a good enough birthday present for ya ;)

**smileyGGfan** - Your reviews always brings a smile on my face and with this one it was a very big grin. Thank you for letting me know I wasn't the only one thinking that about Lorelai/Michel. And your wish is coming true sooner than you think. I'm also happy to note that one more person has stopped waiting for the moment and decided to enjoy the things in the middle. That is my philosophy in life. I know I have some major events coming up, but if I focus on just the major events I will be missing out on enjoying all the things in between, so I'm focusing on whatever's closest, so I can enjoy each moment to the fullest.

**cywen69** - Only gonna ask you one question: Are you psychic? Or have you been breaking into my computer and had a sneak peak? ;)

**Severien** - Three words: Gilmorefan dot com. Let me know if you need a list over which scenes are safe and which aren't.

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - Happy birthday, hon! Bet you didn't expect an update on your day, did ya:P Enjoy your sweet sixteenth, it's been over six years since mine. I remember a friend of mine gave me a jumbo-sized condom as a present (in Norway, you're legal when you're 16). I'm very happy to see longer responces from you, really puts a smile on my face :)

* * *

Luke didn't consider himself a worried man. Not in general at least. Sure, he could get caught up in the moment, just like any other person, like a couple of situations back when his father was sick or that one time Lorelai had told him that Rory had run away and he'd felt as though he was having a heart attack; but he didn't feel that any of that made him a worrywart. But the last week of seeing Lorelai come into the diner, each time looking more tired and worn out than the last, Luke had to admit he was more than just concerned about her wellbeing. As their fight was resolved, Luke had begun seeing more of Lorelai and William in the diner, despite Lorelai's busy work schedule. On weekdays, he would see her briefly, as she picked up a to-go cup of coffee, then if her schedule allowed it, she would stop by for another coffee fix in early to mid afternoon. Then, in the evening, Lorelai would come in and exhaustedly plop onto a chair and remain sitting for the next hour or so.

Luke had been used to Lorelai's many bits and he surely had seen her many playful exaggerations about how awful her day was or how a hand injury could inspire a long story about her having a near-death experience and for some reason; superheroes. He was used to Lorelai playing things up. What worried him about this picture was how Lorelai was brushing it off as nothing. She was simply too exhausted to do otherwise. Lorelai had looked particularly tired when she'd briefly stopped by in the morning for coffee, balancing William on her hip. When he didn't see her that afternoon, Luke knew that Lorelai was having a long day, and surely as he was once again finding himself thinking about her, the bell above the door rang as Lorelai short of sleepwalked in. Like any other time, she put William down in his bouncy chair and made sure everything was secure, then slumped into the closest chair and rested her head on the table. Arming himself with a fresh pot of coffee and a mug, Luke went over.

- You okay, he asked.

- Hmm, I'm fine, Lorelai responded, absently.

- Then why is your head on the table?

- Table's very comfortable, she mumbled, not even bothering to lift her head even a little to look at him.

- I'll take your word for it, Luke responded, not knowing what else to say. - What'll you have?

- Coffee, Lorelai replied at once.

- Anything else?

- One of those bendy straws so I don't have to lift my head to drink it, Lorelai enquired.

- You shouldn't drink hot beverages through a straw, Luke reasoned. - You'll burn your mouth.

- Well, then at least I'll be awake, Lorelai countered, a little too slowly for his taste.

There was no expression on her face as she said it. Not even a hint of a smile at her own joke. Luke wasn't sure he liked this new Lorelai. Sure, the old one had a talent for pushing his buttons with great amusement. He'd be the first to admit it. And she more than once made him so frustrated he wanted to rip his hair out. But he had early on come to acknowledge that this was just part of who Lorelai Gilmore was and everything else about her more than made up for it. But now that it was lacking, Luke strangely enough found himself missing it. He missed her bits, her witty remarks, her snappy comebacks. He missed her driving him up the wall.

- Are you sure you're okay, Luke asked.

- Mmm, fine, Lorelai mumbled, her eyes now closed. - Just need coffee... be fine...

The words were barely understandable as Lorelai seemed to almost not have the energy to move her lips at all. He filled a cup placing it in front of her nose, figuring the smell would alert her senses, but Lorelai remained still.

- Lorelai, he asked, attempting to make contact with her.

Getting no answer or even a reaction, he gently tried shaking her shoulder. As he did, Lorelai literally flinched, sending the full coffee mug smashing onto the floor. The sudden loud noise startled William so much that the boy began to cry. Ignoring Lorelai's startled reaction and the broken mug, Luke unstrapped William and picked him up in a way to soothe him. Over his shoulder, Luke yelled towards the kitchen.

- Ceasar, you're in charge.

- Sure thing, boss, came the reply.

Luke gestured for Lorelai to get up from her chair.

- What are you doing, Lorelai asked.

- Taking you home, Luke answered, matter-of-factly. - There's no way I'm letting you drive or walk home alone in this state.

Lorelai accepted the answer and followed him out the door. At first Luke had considered driving her home, seeing as the jeep was parked right outside the diner. But as the fresh, cool air seemed to have an awakening effect on Lorelai, he decided against it and simply walked her home. When inside the house, Luke temporarily put William on the floor under the baby gym and proceeded to pack up some of the kid's things.

- What are you doing, Lorelai asked, confused.

- You need sleep, Luke told her. - I'm taking William for the night, so you can rest up and really rest up this time. I don't wanna hear about you catching up on paper work for the inn or going in to work tomorrow. Call in sick, because you're not doing your son or Sookie or your superiors, least of all yourself any favors by pushing yourself to the limit.

Lorelai looked as though she was going to object, but for once Luke was glad she was too tired to make any strong objections.

- What about the diner, Lorelai then asked.

- Ceasar will manage, Luke replied.

- But...

- He's done it long before Lane came along and he'll manage without her, Luke cut her off, knowing exactly what she was going to ask. - Go upstairs; I don't wanna hear another word.

- I still haven't gotten a portable crib, Lorelai pointed out.

- I have a bed for him, Luke responded.

- Listen, I know it went fine during the day, but William's too little to sleep in a regular bed at night, Lorelai reasoned.

- I know that, Luke calmly replied. - I went by the storage unit a couple of days ago and found the crib dad bought for Jess in case Liz decided to bring him home with her. Of course, she never did, so the crib was never used, but I saw it and figured it would come in handy.

Of course, that was a lie. Well, the story of the crib was true, but Luke had given the crib and a couple of other things he never thought he'd be needing to charity several years ago, right after his father had died. But he did have a crib. He had driven past a store in Litchfield and seen the big sale sign outside it and spotted one of those portable cribs that Lorelai had mentioned a week earlier being advertised at fifty percent off, so he'd bought one and stashed it underneath Jess' old bed, in case he again found himself taking on babysitting duties.

But just as he didn't want Nicole to know he had it, as that would only lead to more questions and accusations, of which he was beyond tired of, he wasn't comfortable about telling Lorelai about it either. He figured she would either tease him incessantly about it or take his anticipation of having to watch William again to be a comment on her as a mom. Also, she could also suddenly insist on paying him for it when he knew the whole reason she was on the brink of exhaustion was so she could take care of her kid.

Luckily she didn't seem to have more objections and he continued packing up the things. But she did remain observing him until he picked William up again, ready to go back to his place. At the door, she held her arms out for William and Luke passed the boy on to her. She hugged her son close and kissed his temple.

- You be a good boy now, Lorelai told her son in that soft voice she used whenever she spoke to a kid. - Don't give him too much trouble, now. Mommy will be there to come and get you tomorrow.

- We'll be fine, Luke assured her as she handed him the boy back, then turned his gaze to the baby. - Right, buddy?

William let out a happy gurgle as a response, which brought a slight smile to Lorelai's face, a tired smile, but a smile nonetheless. Luke put William down in his stroller and picked up both the bags he'd packed, hung one of them over the handle of the stroller and tucked the other away on the grid underneath and turned around to leave.

- Did you remember to bring the bunny, Lorelai asked, worriedly.

- He's holding the bunny right now, Luke pointed out.

- What about diapers, did you pack enough of them?

- I packed plenty, Luke sighed. - But I can stop by Doose's and pick up a pack if that helps you relax.

- What about formula?

- Going on the list with the diapers, Luke assured her. - Now, stop worrying and stalling and go to bed.

- Okay, I'm going. But I'm paying you for that mug, Lorelai promised him.

- It's only a stupid mug, Luke replied over his shoulder.

- I'm still paying for it, she insisted.

- Only if you show up tomorrow, well rested, Luke countered and opened the door, supporting it with his back as he carried the stroller over the threshold.

He turned around slightly, happy to note that Lorelai, for once, was listening to him and heading up the stairs for bed. Luke carried the stroller down the front steps and headed in direction of the diner, when he heard Babette shouting behind him.

- Wait, Luke! Wait, Babette shouted, as she ran towards him.

Partly holding Luke's shoulder to steady herself when she reached him, Babette took a minute to catch her breath.

- Geez, take it easy, Luke told her.

- Is Lorelai okay, Babette enquired, in between gasps. - Patty just called me and said she heard that Lorelai fainted in the diner today.

- Lorelai didn't faint, Luke sighed.

He was amazed at how fast the news had both spread and grown in the half an hour it had taken him to pack up William's things.

- She fell asleep at one of the tables, he clarified. - So I brought her home.

- Oh, poor thing, Babette exclaimed. - I've gotta go and see how she's doing.

- Babette, no, Luke told her, firmly. - She's exhausted and needs some sleep, so I'm watching William for her. The best thing you can do for her is to not disturb her.

When he finally managed to get away from Babette as well as making sure she didn't head over to Lorelai's house, Luke stopped by the market, as promised, to pick up diapers, formula, plus a couple of things he needed for himself. From years of practice he had no problems zoning out whatever it was Taylor was babbling about and made a quick exit after paying. Instead of going through the diner and up the stairs, Luke opted to go around the back entrance, seeing as he could spot Miss Patty's questionable gaze through the window and he wasn't about to defend his friendship with Lorelai to her or anyone else for that matter.

With William having fallen asleep in the stroller, Luke parked the stroller at the bottom of the stairs and began carrying all the other supplies up. He proceeded to pull the portable crib out from underneath Jess' bed and set it up, making sure it was as solid and safe as the woman at the store had promised him it would be. Even though William was still very much asleep when Luke went down to get him, he still decided to carry the sleeping baby up the stairs and put him in the crib instead.

Noticing the time, Luke picked up the phone and called a familiar number. He didn't want to call Nicole too early, seeing as she never left the office when she was supposed to. She was very dedicated to her work and her clients. This meant that either she stayed behind to catch up on work or meet with clients or whenever there was a bigger workload, like whenever a court date came up, she would even bring the work home with her and sit up all night. Luke didn't think too much of it. There were irregularities at his job as well. Sometimes he stayed open longer to feed the hungry townspeople after a town meeting. His employee's could call in sick one day and he'd end up working in their place.

- _Hello_, Nicole said in the other end.

- Hi, it's me, Luke said.

- _Oh, hi, sorry that I'm running late_, Nicole told him. - _Things have been a bit hectic today, I just got in, but I won't be too long and if we lose our reservations, then who cares, right? Unless you wanna go ahead to the restaurant and wait for me? Either way, I'll be quick, I promise._

Luke felt a chill run down his spine. Figures that they had made plans. Plans he couldn't remember making, but then again, he'd been a bit preoccupied lately. He'd originally planned to just let her know he was staying behind for the night, now he'd have to explain to her why he couldn't meet her as well.

- Well, Luke sighed. - I can't meet you there.

Before Nicole managed to answer a cry pierced the silence of his apartment. Apparently William had woken up.

- _What's that noise_, Nicole enquired.

- William, Luke answered her, truthfully as he made his way over to the crib, where the boy was lying.

- _Who_, Nicole asked, confused.

- You know, Lorelai's kid, Luke explained.

- _You're calling from the diner?_

- No, I'm calling from the apartment.

- _What is Lorelai doing at your apartment?_

- She's not here, Luke explained. - It's just William. I'm... well, I'm watching him for her.

There was silence on the other end. Luke hated this kind of thing with Nicole. Confrontations. Why was it that whenever the two of them ventured onto the subject of Lorelai, he always ended up feeling guilty for even knowing the woman. Sure, after talking to Lorelai about it, he realized that he'd made a mistake by bringing up her name on his first date with Nicole, but it seemed as though he was never going to live that down. Why couldn't Nicole just trust him? He used the opportunity of the silence to put the phone aside to pick William up. The boy seemed to calm slightly once he was up in Luke's arms and his cry lessened as Luke rocked him gently from side to side. Luke bent down and picked the bunny up from the crib and gave it to William, who immediately grabbed the silky tag and stuck his thumb in his mouth. Holding William up with one arm, Luke picked the phone back up and awaited Nicole's reply.

- _Why_, she finally asked.

- Lorelai was exhausted, Luke told her. - So I offered to watch William, so she could get some sleep.

This earned him more silence. William had gotten acclimated to the safety of Luke's arms, the tears completely gone. Luke wondered if the boy had woken up from a nightmare or something. He wasn't sure if babies at this age had nightmares or if that was something they got when they were older; but whatever it was that had startled the kid, it was obviously forgotten, as William continuously sucked on his thumb on one hand and used the other to gently grasp the collar of Luke's flannel shirt.

- _Okay_, Nicole sighed. - _How long until she comes and picks him up?_

Luke could tell she wasn't okay with this, but what choice did he really have? He liked to believe that if Nicole had seen what state Lorelai had been in lately, that she too would've offered to help, but deep down he wasn't so sure.

- Tomorrow, he answered, truthfully.

- _You're taking him for the whole night_, Nicole asked in disbelief. - _I'm sorry, but this is getting a bit too weird for me. Why are you doing this? You have no obligations to her. This isn't your responsibility._

- Nicole, Luke groaned. - She spends every day working one job, building a business from scratch, while being a full time mom. That's a lot for just one person.

- _Yes, that's a lot to take, so maybe she should've learned to plan things better, instead of relying on everyone else to take over when it gets a bit too much for her_, Nicole snapped.

There was a slight pause at her end.

- _Okay_, Nicole sighed, continuing in a slightly calmer tone. - _That was maybe a little harsh. But it doesn't mean I don't mean it. She knew she was pregnant when she started this and she of all people should know what a baby entails. She brought this upon herself and she shouldn't be expecting you to pick up her slack for her._

- She didn't, Luke groaned. - I offered. She objected, but I insisted.

- _Why did you_, Nicole asked.

- She fell asleep at the diner today, Luke explained. - She's working herself to the limit and if I hadn't stepped up, who knows what would've happened. Maybe she'd collapse on the way home or fall asleep at the wheel. Would you rather I let that happen?

He heard Nicole sigh in the other end

- _No_, Nicole sighed. - _But you're doing an awful lot for someone you claim is just a friend._

- Nicole, Luke groaned, bracing himself for _that_ discussion again.

- _You know what_, Nicole cut him off. - _I have to go. We'll talk later._

She didn't even wait for him to say bye before she hung up. Luke considered calling her back, but figured some space would probably do them more good than another awkward conversation would. William had fallen asleep in his arms, so Luke gently carried the boy back to the crib and put him down. Not really wanting to think about his phone call with Nicole, he instead pulled up a chair and watched the baby as he slept on in blissful ignorance to the world that was filled with complications.

TBC


	65. Oh, I'm not the

AN: Ok, so yesterday was GG mania at my household, new ep on tv; 7x04 (Jikes, it was even worse than I thought. The Emily gag was hilarious though and the Luke/April I already knew was great, but the rest...ick! Pod-Lorelai anyone?). New ep downloaded; 7x11 (My show is back!! Lorelai is beginning to re-emerge and the rant was amazing, part of it is my MSN nick now, the stuff with Luke and the stuff with April and the letter, oh man. I can't wait for the coming eps, I'm so excited!) And finally; Season 5 released on DVD. I finally have the five really good years on DVD. I can't wait to show my mom over Easter, which is a long time away, so I'm gonna focus on the next thing, which is writing more chapters. As always a shoutout to my beta, Steph!

**Copop** - Oy, I should really keep my mouth shut, cause people tend to read a little bit too much into my shoutouts... jikes. If there's one thing I can make clear it's that, if you manage to guess at what time the revelation comes, it will not come from something I write in a shoutout.

**smileyGGfan** - Glad you liked the chapter name, I felt it was appropriate for the situation. And wow, it's "read too much into everything" day here. I don't make that large revelation hints in my shoutouts. And keep writing the reviews like you do and I will continue with the shoutouts ;) Lets hope DR can hear your other wish :) I seriously wouldn't mind that. Maybe if we get a season 8... well if we get season 8 they HAVE to give us that. I mean, Lorelai isn't gonna get any younger and the longer they wait, the bigger the risks. You will just have to read and see what's coming :)

**Gymtig** - LOL, the Nicole/Dopey thing, I was just talking to my beta about that the other day. We decided to pair up the girl/guy history amongst LL and their exes and these were our matches: Luke/Lorelai (obviously), Max/Rachel (I think they would really have a chance), Jason/Anna (Both have their good qualities and their bad... they kinda match), Nicole/Dopey (match in hell).

**cywen69** - I knew it, I knew it. What else did you find out? ;) Yes, Nicole is rubbed wrong by William, or well the fact that William is Lorelai's baby and Luke is way too involved with him for her taste. As for William being comfortable with Luke, he's "seen" Luke's face every day and heard his voice every day from since he was born, so of course there's a connection.

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - You _are_ special and don't you ever forget it. Your reviews make impact on me, they inspire me to wanna update quicker just so I can get another one ;) Nice nickname, I have a couple of nice ones and a couple of not so nice ones, but I'm just gonna list the good; Buffy, Lorelai, Karatekid, kitten (yes, I'm a cat person). Of course the marriage isn't working out, it's just as bad as the one we're seeing on the show and just wait when the realization sinks in. I wonder who will be quicker, DR or me :P Should I make it a race?

**Severien** - The show has begun to return, ep 11 was great (but watch out for Dopey singing - GAH!), Lorelai is beginning to feel like her old self, finally. Sent the clip numbers to you in a PM, so enjoy the Luke/April scenes, my friend. Oh and I _love_ April, I think she's great. She's true to herself and special and reminds me a lot of the person who was my best friend in elementary. It bugs me that people hate April because they hate her storyline. I wasn't too fond of how she was presented, but I thought from the start that she was a great kid and I still do. And yes, I agree that Lorelai is taking on a lot, more is to come ;)

* * *

Waking up that morning was weird. Lorelai had conked out the moment her head had hit the pillow the night before, completely drained of energy. As she woke up, she didn't immediately feel refreshed and rested, but at the same time she had a nagging feeling that she had managed to oversleep, despite having done as Luke had asked her to and called in sick at work. Her room felt a bit too bright, but as she checked her alarm clock, it was only an hour past when William would usually wake her up.

Lorelai was someone who enjoyed sleeping in when she could, but when she reached the last stage of pregnancy where her body was generating so much heat that her sheets felt too warm, but not enough heat to manage sleep without them and then when William had arrived and needed her constant care, there had been no such thing as sleeping in. In fact, there had been no such thing as sleeping through the night without interruptions. And after having been acclimated to this daily rhythm, Lorelai found herself being too restless to manage to just snuggle up under the covers and close her eyes again. She was simply too used to being up at this time of day to get a single more wink of sleep, not that she needed it as Luke had sent her to bed already at six the night before and it was over seven now.

A quick shower, a pop-tart and a cup of coffee later, Lorelai was on her way to the diner. It was when she past the market and saw several people working on hanging up giant paper maché stars in the square, that she realized they were setting up for the Firelight festival which was taking place the next day. That said it all about how far gone she'd really been, to have not seen this before, even though she'd been walking past the square several times a day for the past week, giving her plenty of opportunities to notice.

The diner was beyond packed when she entered and the first thing that hit her was the guilt of knowing that Luke was watching William, while having customers just short of running down the door. However as she spotted Luke behind the counter, taking some orders from customers, he didn't look that stressed to her. He passed the orders on to Ceasar and took the pot to fill coffee for the people sitting at the counter. Most of the customers had already received their food, so despite the enormous amount of people present, Luke didn't seem as busy as she'd thought he'd be. The bell above the door rang as a couple of people she'd never seen before entered the diner and quickly grabbed a table where a couple of customers had just got up, intending to leave. Normally this was something that would aggravate her, but seeing as she wasn't planning on sitting down, Lorelai just let it slide. Luke had looked up when the bell rang; upon spotting Lorelai, he frowned.

- I thought I told you to rest up, he said, accusingly. - It's only eight o'clock.

- Well, seeing as I've just slept for thirteen hours straight, I think I did just that, Lorelai pointed out, rolling her eyes. - I can't help that for the last three months I've been adjusted to being woken up at six every morning. I tried going back to sleep, but my body simply wouldn't let me, I promise. I'll even pinky swear on it if that makes you happy.

She even jokingly held her pinky up and ready.

- Well, when you're willing to _pinky swear_, Luke chuckled.

- So, where's William, Lorelai asked.

- I gave him a bottle around five and he went back to sleep, Luke told her. - I haven't heard anything yet, so my guess is he's still sleeping.

- So, it went well, Lorelai enquired.

- Pretty well, Luke nodded. - We had a nice evening together. He has a new favorite game, by the way.

- Really, Lorelai said, intrigued. - What kind of game?

- It's nothing big, Luke shrugged. - At first we went through his toys, but he got tired of them and he got a bit fascinated with my cap.

- Yeah, well, who isn't, Lorelai said, teasingly.

- And at first, Luke continued, ignoring her comment. - He got a bit frustrated, cause, you know, he couldn't hold on to anything. So I turned it around for him and he proceeded to pull the cap off. And then I put it back on, and he pulled it off again. We must've been doing that for like fifteen minutes. Just putting the cap on and pulling it off again.

- Kids are easily amused, Lorelai confirmed, with a grin. - I'm glad he had fun.

- He did, Luke nodded. - It was the same thing over and over again and every time, he would laugh and look at me anticipatively, just waiting for me to put it on again.

- He laughed, Lorelai asked, surprised.

- Yeah, Luke confirmed. - At first it was just a loud squeal; but after a couple more times, it turned into more of a laugh.

- Wow, Lorelai said, pensively.

A part of her was sad about missing that moment, his first laugh, but a bigger part of her was just overwhelmingly happy that Luke was there to experience it. That he got to have an important moment in William's life all to himself.

- Lorelai, Luke asked, looking strangely at her.

- Hmm, Lorelai said, absently, then snapped back to the present. - I'm sorry, I just zoned out a little bit, there.

- Are you alright, Luke wondered.

- Yeah, Lorelai assured him. - I was just... wow, he's laughing now.

- Wait. You mean he didn't before?

- Nope, Lorelai said, shaking her head. - I mean, he's smiled a lot and I knew the laugh would come eventually, but you, my friend, got to witness the first one.

Now it was Luke's turn to get pensive, but only for a couple of seconds as William's cry could be heard over the baby monitor that was lying right next to the toaster.

- So the last bottle was at five, Lorelai asked him.

- Around five, Luke confirmed. - He didn't drink all that much, so I wouldn't be surprised if he was hungry again.

- Okay, Lorelai nodded. - I'll just...

She gestured towards the curtain.

- Take your time, Luke told her and gave her the baby monitor to take with her.

William's cry decreased noticeably when he saw his mommy lean over the crib to pick him up, but he didn't stop, which mainly indicated two things for the untrained ear; food or a new diaper. However Lorelai knew this cry very well; her boy was hungry. She hadn't picked the best top for breastfeeding, as she normally went for the ones with buttoning at the front. However, with her recent loss of weight, due to her constantly being on the move, and her figure almost beginning to resemble the one she had prior to the pregnancy, she'd felt like celebrating by flaunting it, just a little. Her choice had fallen on a semi-tight fitting top she hadn't worn since before her and Rory's trip to Europe.

It had seemed like a good idea when she'd looked herself in the mirror, but now, when she rolled it up, it sat a bit tight above her breasts and was generally uncomfortable to wear like that. But the only other option was taking the top completely off. And Lorelai could just imagine the embarrassing situation, should she be lucky enough to have Nicole walk in on her again, so the top stayed on. Luckily it didn't stand in the way from nursing her son. William ate with a healthy appetite.

Just as she rolled her shirt back down and lifted William up to her shoulder to burp him, the door suddenly opened.

- Geez, Lorelai called out. - You could at least knock to make sure I'm decent before you barge in like that.

This didn't stop the person who had opened the door from entering and for a slight moment, Lorelai almost anticipated Nicole walking in, probably demanding an explanation for the outburst. However it wasn't Nicole or Luke who entered, but a woman Lorelai had never seen before. Luke followed just moments later. The woman looked to be around Lorelai's age, maybe a little older, but not by much.

- Um.., Lorelai began, not sure what to say.

- Lorelai, this is my sister Liz, Luke said, cutting her off. - Liz, this is...

- ...your _wife_, Liz finished, with a smile. - I'm so glad to finally meet you.

- _Um.._, Lorelai said, surprised by the woman's sudden conclusion. - Oh... no... no, you...

Liz didn't seem to have notice Lorelai's vocal objection as her gaze landed on baby William in his mother's arms.

- _Luke_, she said in a mock-annoyed voice, smacking her brother playfully in the arm. - Why didn't you _tell_ me you have a kid?

- _What_, Luke said, taken aback. - No, Liz... no, I'm not the...

- I'm not the..., Lorelai said, almost simultaneously.

- ...dad, Luke finished.

- ...wife.

- Oh, I'm sorry, Liz chuckled. - I just assumed, with the way you were here and the toys and the... _crib_?

Liz had just then noticed the crib.

- Yeah, well, Luke shrugged. - I was watching William for her.

Liz raised her brow, but she didn't say anything, just nodded, acceptingly at her brother's explanation.

- Yeah, Lorelai said, awkwardly, getting up. - And I just came to get him and... well... he got hungry... And... well, you know. So, I was just leaving.

- There's no rush, Luke assured her, obviously not very thrilled with the idea of spending time alone with his sister.

- Got things to do, places to go, Lorelai shrugged, to which Luke furrowed his brows.

- I thought I told you to take the day off, he reminded her.

- It's just a quick meeting and a general check-up on the work, she promised him. - An hour or two tops, I promise. And afterwards I won't do a single inn-related thing.

- Why does that not convince me, Luke said, dryly.

- _Hey_, Lorelai objected. - I make good on my promises.

- Like the last time I told you to get some rest, Luke challenged.

- Not my fault that the phone kept ringing off the hook.

- Then you should've turned it off, Luke reasoned.

- I did, Lorelai sighed. - It was my landline.

- You hear your phone all the way up in your bedroom, Luke asked, surprised.

- Well, you know when Kirk was messing around my house with the whole alarm incident and kept disconnecting everything except the actual alarm? He also did something, I don't know what, to my phone when he was testing if it worked, so now whenever it rings, it rings _really_ loud. And I can't figure out what on earth he did.

- Did your try the volume knot, Luke enquired.

- What volume knot, Lorelai asked, confused.

- The little wheel on the left side of the phone, Luke explained. - Did you try that?

- My phone has that?

- I think we just discovered the problem, Luke stated, dryly.

- Not once have I claimed to be a tech wiz, Lorelai pointed out.

- How about common sense.

- Oh, that, Lorelai shrugged. - Anyway, so I'll see you later. Liz, it was really nice meeting you.

- You too, Liz replied. - Maybe if we see each other again we can talk some more, you know, get to know each other a bit. Maybe you can catch me up on everything my brother doesn't want me to know.

- Sure, Lorelai nodded. - We'll see each other later today when I come and pick up the rest of William's things. You don't mind, right, Luke?

- Oh, I'm not staying here, Liz corrected. - I'm staying with my friend, Carrie.

- Crazy Carrie, Luke enquired.

- She's not crazy, Liz objected. - She just likes the boys.

- I'll say, Luke snorted.

- You should talk, Liz told Luke in that bratty little sister kinda voice. - You made out with her at the Homecoming game.

- I did _not_, Luke objected, which only got Liz laughing.

- Wow, I'm intrigued, Lorelai said.

- I thought you were leaving, Luke pointed out.

- Sure, _now_ you want me to go, Lorelai said, rolling her eyes.

- I'll tell you about it later, Liz promised.

- You will do no such thing, Luke warned her.

- I'm gonna hold you to that, Lorelai told Liz.

She turned her gaze to Luke.

- I will be back to annoy you at lunch, she said to Luke. - How does that sound?

- Terrific, Luke retorted.

- Again, thanks for watching him, Lorelai told him.

- Anytime.

TBC


	66. A Family Matter

AN: Okay, so I made a funny realization. My main nickname online is "kitten" or some sort of version of "kitten" (have been for years) and I was watching season 5 (cause I now have the DVD's) and Lorelai said about Michel; "afraid of me? of kitten?" and I just started laughing. So now I also share a nickname with my favorite GG character. Awesome. As always a shoutout for my beta - Steph, you're an angel!

**spinningcreation** - I have no words. Really, I don't know how to respond to that, other than I think everybody has their share of crazy, I know I have mine, and probably a couple of other people's as well ;)

**cywen69** - Hopefully, you'll like what's coming :)

**smileyGGfan** - Well, Masie for one ;) And yes, Liz is a very perceptive woman. She does notice things. Not gonna say anything else, cause otherwize I'll get another wave of missunderstandings coming my way and I've had about enough of those... lol

**Gymtig** - My favorite is "Last week fights, this week tights", favorite episode, favorite scene, favorite LL moment. But WITS is an amazing episode as well, love it :) I would love to pretend, but season 6 do have Paul Anka and April, both whom I love and there are some really great LL moments in the first half. And the second half of the current season looks very promising, so I'm gonna give it a chance.

**Severien** - Let me know what you think of the Luke/April scenes. I absolutely adore them as father and daughter and the new episode really shows how the two parental units and their kids really get each other. They fit, which is only a bonus to the already amazing LL package.

* * *

Lorelai met a surprised expression from Luke when she walked into the diner at lunch time.

- What are you doing here, Luke asked.

- I did _say_ I was coming back at lunch, Lorelai reminded him.

- So she _can_ tell time, Luke teased.

- Well, when dedicated, I have a pretty _good_ track record in showing up on time. Just ask Rory, she'll tell you, Lorelai told him. - And Liz got me all intrigued by the make-out story, so here I am. Is she still here?

- She's upstairs, Luke replied, gruffly. - Either she's in the bathroom, like she said she was going, or she's lighting up the pot that apparently I've had stashed in the back of my closet for a couple of decades.

- _Pot_, Lorelai asked, surprised. - _You_, Luke Danes? Mr I-drink-Megaman-Protein-Drink, _you_ kept pot?

- Not me, Luke objected. - Liz did back when this was dad's office and because I'm a sentimental fool that can't get rid of anything of his, it's been lying there for over twenty years. And the fact that one of the first things Liz did after you left was look for it... this whole visit is looking very promising.

- You're not that happy to see her, are you?

- Whatever gave you that idea, Luke asked, dryly, rolling his eyes.

- Just an inkling, Lorelai quipped. - So, how long since the last time you saw her?

- Three years, Luke shrugged.

- _Wow_, Lorelai exclaimed. - Really? That long?

- She called and asked me to come help her find a new apartment, since she was being kicked out, so like every other time, I dropped whatever I was doing and went to see her. There hasn't been a single time since we were kids where she's contacted me without there being a hidden agenda, so I'm still waiting for that shoe to drop.

- Did she say anything about what she was doing here?

- She says she's here for her twentieth high school reunion. Also, she's hooked up with another guy and it sounds just a bit too much like every other time she's found 'the one'. So I'm not counting my chickens just yet.

- Talking about me are we?

Liz appeared through the curtains, the same wide smile on her face that she's had the whole day, as well as that mischievous twinkle in her eye. Luke looked away, a bit uncomfortable by his sister possibly having overheard him and Lorelai talking. Lorelai decided to take a more humoristic approach to the situation.

- Well, you know this town, she shrugged. - The minute you step into it you're the number one subject and blowing your nose anywhere can land you a monument.

- Yeah, I know, Liz chuckled.

As if given a cue, William proceeded to sneeze, which got the two women laughing.

- Attention-seeker, Lorelai mock-scolded, then turned to Liz. - What do you say? Did he qualify for the monument?

- I'd surely give him one for that performance, Liz laughed and stretched out her hand to gently grace his cheek. - By the way, I'm really sorry for the whole mishap earlier. I guess it's true what they say when you assume something.

- Don't worry about it, Lorelai shrugged. - It was an honest mistake. I probably would've thought I was the wife, too, if I'd been you.

- I just hope I didn't make you uncomfortable or anything by it, Liz continued. - It was just the whole scene with the baby, the crib and you looked like his type, and well... you know the rest.

- It was just a weird situation, Lorelai acknowledged, trying not to read too much into what Liz was saying. - Believe me, I don't usually make a habit out of taking my shirt off, or any clothes for that matter that isn't defined as outerwear when I'm at a friend's house.

- I breastfed my kid as well, so I completely understand, Liz assured her. - There's really isn't any other way of getting the boob out.

- No there isn't, Lorelai laughed.

- Hey, did you ever meet Jess, Liz wondered. - He's a great bit older than your son, but I sent him to stay with Luke a couple of years back and living in such a small town, people can't help but bump into each other.

- Yeah, sure I've met Jess, Lorelai nodded, a little surprised Liz had to ask. - William's not my only kid. I'm also Rory's mom.

Liz gave no sign of recognizing the name, which Lorelai found very surprising.

- She's Jess' girlfriend, Lorelai explained, as her phone began to ring.

- _Outside_, Luke called out from the kitchen.

- It's like thirty-five degrees out there, Lorelai exclaimed.

- This sign isn't just for decorations, Luke reminded her, pointing to his 'no cell phones' sign.

- Well, I can't leave William here all alone, Lorelai argued.

- Oh, I'll watch him, Liz volunteered. - I don't mind.

Not really having time to say anything else, Lorelai handed William over to his aunt. With her ring tone even beginning to annoy her, Lorelai flipped the phone open and answered as she walked out the door.

- Hello?

- _Lorelai, it's your mother._

- Hi, mom, Lorelai replied. - What's up?

- _Does something have to be 'up' for me to want to talk to my daughter_, Emily enquired. - _I can't just call to check up on you or William? How is he, by the way? I hope he doesn't get sick from this cold weather we've been having._

- William's happy and healthy, mom, Lorelai assured her. - As for the checking up on us excuse, any other day it would have a little more credibility. But seeing as it's Friday and both me and William will be seeing you and dad in just a matter of hours, something tells me you have something specific to discuss with me, unless you've decided to start taking dinner requests.

- _Well, alright_, Emily sighed. - _I'm having some trouble filling these eight seats your father bought for the rare manuscript acquisition charity dinner tomorrow night._

- You mean like a fund raiser?

- _Yes, exactly_, Emily confirmed. - _I thought we had cleared this with a couple of our friends, but now our schedules have been mixed up and suddenly no one can go and I'm desperate for attendees._

- And I was the first person you thought of, Lorelai said, feigning hurt. - My, I feel special.

- _Oh for heaven's sake_, Emily groaned. - _It's one night and I'm desperate._

- Well, mom, I'm not exactly swimming in cash right now, so I dunno how big of a contribution I could make, Lorelai pointed out.

- _You're not supposed to give anything. Richard and I have already paid. All you need to do is show up and look decent. A shower is also preferred._

- Listen, mom. I would love to help you out, but I have William to look after.

- _Can you get a sitter? I'm desperate, here._

- I guess, Lorelai shrugged. - Yes, sure, I'll work it out.

- _Oh, excellent_, Emily exclaimed. - _You're a lifesaver._

- Can you just halt for a second there and then repeat that, Lorelai asked. - I need to find a tape recorder so I can document this very moment in history.

- _Very funny._

- I try to be, Lorelai grinned. - Ok, just call and leave the details on where to meet up and all on the home machine.

- _I will do that. I'll see you tonight._

- Tonight it is.

- _Oh, and remember to bring someone_, Emily reminded her.

- To dinner, Lorelai asked, confused.

- _To the event, Lorelai_, Emily pointed out.

- Okay, I was just asking. Goodbye.

- _Bye._

Lorelai sighed and immediately dialed a new number. She was surprised to have it be answered after just a little over a ring. Apparently Rory was right by her phone or she had recently been in the near proximity of green kryptonite and Clark Kent.

- _I'm not talking to you and that's final!_

With that, Lorelai heard a click on the other end as Rory hung up. Confused, it took her a couple of seconds to redial her daughter's number to find out what was up with the sudden hostile tone.

- _What_, Rory answered the phone, annoyed.

- Okay, so I'm wondering what on earth I did, Lorelai asked, confused. - Unless this is a Minority Report thing, in which case I rephrase it to 'going to do'.

- _Mom?_

- Yes, tall, blue eyes, coffee addicted, carried you inside her for nine months, ring any bells?

- _I'm sorry, mom. I thought you were Jess._

- Last time I checked, he's a tad shorter, also slightly less feminine, Lorelai pointed out.

- _None of which is distinguishable over the phone_, Rory pointed out.

- Okay, you got me there, Lorelai nodded.

- _So, why are you calling?_

- Why aren't you talking to Jess?

- _Jess is being stupid_, Rory grumbled.

- Honey, there are plenty of things I would call that boy both in the past and the present, but 'stupid' wouldn't be one of them, Lorelai reasoned. - Why don't you tell me what's up?

- _His mom's in Stars Hollow for the weekend_, Rory explained. - _And now he doesn't wanna come home with me._

- Damn, and here I thought I was the one with the news for once, Lorelai joked. - So, why doesn't he wanna come with you. I thought he and Liz were speaking.

- _They are_, Rory exclaimed. - _Which is why I don't understand why he won't see her._

- Well, did he say why? Or did he clam up?

- _His mom has a new boyfriend and she wants the two of them to meet, but Jess says, and I quote; 'I'm not interested in seeing whatever new loser Liz's picked up'. And now he doesn't even wanna hear about it. He's being so stubborn._

- Well, hon, Lorelai sighed. - I'm sorry to say this, but Jess does have a point. I mean, I've met Liz and she seems like a nice woman, but her and Jess have a lot of not so good history, especially with her many boyfriends. If Jess doesn't want to meet this guy, then he shouldn't have to. And as his girlfriend, you should respect that. I know your intentions are good here, but you're trying to force him to see it your way, while at the same time not see where he's coming from.

- _Okay, I have to ask_, Rory began. - _When did you all of a sudden begin to side with Jess? When did you begin to like him?_

- Ok, lets get one thing straight, right away. I'm not _siding_ with Jess, Lorelai sighed. - I can admit that in the past six months he's started to grow on me. But this is not me siding with him. I am simply pointing out that in this particularly example his stubbornness is rooted in something real. And he is who he is. Guys in general aren't easy to handle and especially not Jess.

- _I'm motioning for a switch of topic_, Rory said. - _You didn't call me to discuss Jess' stubbornness, so what's up?_

- Yes, I did, Lorelai confirmed. - I was calling to ask if you have any specific plans for Saturday night.

- _Well, I was planning on attending the Firelight Festival with you._

- Would you mind if we went to a charity event with your grandparents first?

- _Grandma twisted your arm_, Rory asked, amused. - _What method of persuasion did she use?_

- Desperation, Lorelai replied. - She babbled on about needing to fill a table and normally I would ask why this was important seeing as she and dad have already paid for it, but then I thought 'why bother'. It's not like anything they do makes sense to me or ever will for that matter.

- _Wise move_, Rory acknowledged.

- Yes, I can be very wise at times, Lorelai chuckled. - Then before I could say bye she told me to bring someone.

- _Hence asking me to come with_, Rory concluded.

- Exactly. So feel like keeping mommy from ending up pulling a Lizzie Borden?

- _I highly doubt you'll find an axe there_, Rory pointed out.

- I'd probably substitute it with a salad fork, Lorelai shrugged. - Makes the whole thing more creative.

- _And more impressive_, Rory added. - _Sure, I'll go with you._

- You're a angel, babe.

- _I try to be_, Rory replied. - _But I have a class in ten minutes, so I have to get ready._

- Okay, I'll see you tonight.

- _See you tonight._

After hanging up and putting the phone back into her purse, Lorelai went back into the diner, rubbing the warmth back into her fingers, which had gotten cold and stiff in the time she'd spent in the chilly weather. While Lorelai'd been outside, Liz had strapped William in the bouncy chair. William was happy, content and laughing as Liz was tickling his tummy. This made Lorelai smile. It was the first time Lorelai had heard her son laugh and she was absolutely falling in love with his laughter. People said little kids smiled with their whole face, but William was smiling, not to mention laughing with his whole body. His tiny body shook as another wave of laughter washed over him. Lorelai leaned down and planted a kiss on his temple.

- You're having fun, sweetie, she asked him, softly.

William squealed in reply and waved his arms and legs uncontrollably, just like any other three month old did when they were excited. Lorelai grinned and kissed her baby again.

- Thanks for watching him, Lorelai told Liz, as she took a seat next to the woman.

- No problem, Liz replied in her characteristic, raspy voice. - So you said your daughter's dating my Jess?

- Yeah, Lorelai confirmed. - Rory and Jess have been an item for over a year now. So I was surprised you didn't know.

- Oh, Liz chuckled. - Jess never tells me these things. In fact, when we talk, he barely tells me anything at all. But I get it, I haven't exactly been qualifying for mother of the year. I take whatever I can get. He seems to be doing well, from what he's told me at least.

- Yeah, that's what Rory's telling me as well, Lorelai nodded.

- I'm glad; Luke told me there'd been some problems along the way.

- Just a couple, Lorelai shrugged, not really wanting to say bad things about Jess to his mother, especially not when he'd been doing well for himself lately.

- He just takes some time before the message sinks in, Liz continued. - He's like me that way. I was a mess most of the time Jess was growing up. So much that I'm surprised I didn't screw him up more than I did, you know. Thank God for Luke, that's all I can say. So, I'm thinking, sending Jess to him; probably the smartest move I ever made.

- I think it did him good, Lorelai acknowledged.

- Luke is great with kids, Liz told Lorelai. - I know he pretends not to be, but once you get through that tough exterior, there's a great big heart living in there.

- Oh I know, Lorelai nodded, thinking on the many things Luke had done for her throughout the years and still was doing.

- That's why I knew it was right to send Jess when I did, Liz concluded. - Also, because I had no clue on how to get through to him anymore.

- You did the right thing, Lorelai assured her. - I mean, I wasn't exactly Jess' biggest fan when he came here and like you said there's definitely been some obstacles along the way, but he has really managed to turn his life around.

- Now all is left is for the mom to do the same, Liz shrugged. - And I think I might have done it this time. I have a new job; I've gotten into designing my own jewelry that I sell.

- Oh, really, Lorelai said, intrigued. - Are you any good?

- People seem to really like my stuff, Liz said, modestly. - I always sell plenty on the Renaissance Fair circuit. I'm telling you, it's great, I get to wear a great costume and travel from Fair to Fair. Me and TJ are heading to Minnesota next month.

- TJ, Lorelai asked.

- That's my boyfriend, Liz clarified. - And things are going great with us, he might even be the one.

- Oh please, Luke muttered, as he passed the table, carrying the coffee pot.

- Did anyone tell you to listen in on our conversation, Lorelai asked him.

- I wasn't listening in, Luke pointed out. - I was filling coffee and couldn't help overhearing. If you wanted to talk in private, I suggest using a less public place.

- Doesn't matter, Liz said, getting up. - I've gotta run, anyway. Me and Carrie are gonna have a girls night and take out the old yearbook in preparation for the reunion tomorrow and make predictions on what everyone's doing.

- That sounds like fun, Lorelai laughed.

- I know, I can't wait, Liz replied. - Oh, and Luke, I'm gonna make sure and let Carrie know how good you look.

- Don't, he pleaded.

- Bye, Liz yelled, waving and went out the door.

- _Sisters_, Lorelai heard Luke mutter before he went back to refilling coffee.

TBC


	67. Firelight Conversations

AN: Here comes the exact reason why you _want_ me to write ahead of updates, becase then when I am having a little trouble getting a chapter done I have a buffer zone, so you don't have to wait forever for an update ;) And hopefully I will have negotiated my brain to work with me again, so I can continue on this thing. Many thanks to Steph for the beta :)

**sarahb2007** - Oh, I have a plan and it hasn't been changed :P

**Ele** - If you compare her to the season 7 version of Anna, then I'm with you, because I liked the season 6 version. I personally believe more and more that DR just took Anna a bit too far than ASP had planned. She's not my favorite character, not by a longshot, but I understood her in season 6.

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - Well with the Rory/Jess conflict I wanted to demonstrate how difficult it can be sometimes to understand the views that comes from someone who's had a completely different upbringing than you. Rory has, like me, had a very stable and sheltered upbringing and therefore when she comes across people who's experienced the complete opposite of that, it's very difficult to follow said person's views all the time and it's bound to bring some collisions and conflicts. Especially if the person is close to you. I have several friends like that and I often have to hear about how I don't have a clue what this and that is like and in return I sometimes end up saying something that upsets them.

**Severien** - I'm happy to hear that you're enjoying those scenes :) I agree the only traces of GG is in the Luke/April scenes. As for April getting along with Lorelai and Rory, watch the mall scene in episode 11 and you will see how they get along. They really understand each other. I hope we get more of that kinda interraction soon. I agree it seems like Lorelai might be coming back to herself, however I wasn't too impressed with her in episode 12. The letter was good, but she suddenly looked way too comfortable in her marriage, compared to the last two episodes, where you could see hints of her understanding it's not going so well. It seems like the writers aren't really working together towards a common goal. Lets hope the next episode is better.

**Asta-Gilmore** - Not saying anything besides stay tuned ;)

**smileyGGfan** - You asked me if there were any women left in Luke's life who hadn't seen Lorelai somewhat indecent, to which I replied: Masie. And the "Dopey" nickname comes from Lorelai herself calling Chris "Dopey" in episode 5x15, when her and Rory are talking about if it was Richard and Emily or just Emily who got Chris to come to the vow renewal: "_...I'm pretty sure she's the one who poisoned the apple and gave it to Dopey to bring to the party_..." Well, Liz and Jess _is_ at speaking terms, just not very personal. Jess is not really a sharing guy in general, so it makes sense that he doesn't tell Liz about more major things, considering their past relationship. Jason is still Richard's business partner, I just haven't mentioned him in a while.

**bianca89** - I'm not saying Liz didn't notice the similarities, but seeing as the last chapter wasn't from Liz's POV, I can't exactly share with you what she thinks or doesn't think unless she expresses it in some way, like with a look or with words. I disagree however with Lorelai and Rory kicking Chris out of their lives, mostly it was Chris bailing on them. Also, Rory's had one parent who took on both roles, while Jess had one bailing on him and the other failing to get herself together in time.

**Gymtig** - Jason/Nicole? I like Jason a lot more than I like Nicole.

* * *

Luke had originally planned not to come out for the festival and used the slow night to catch up on bills and receipts. It was amazing how Liz could be in town for only two days and already she was making him crazy. Her showing up out of the blue without calling first, not that he expected anything less from her, was one thing. Then her insistence to bond with Lorelai even before she knew their kids were dating. Luke wasn't sure why this bugged him. Was it the way Liz mentioned that stupid rumor crazy Carrie had made up back in high school in front of her? Was it because it was _Lorelai_ this was mentioned to? Or was there no real reason, and the whole uneasiness was just him anticipating whatever it was Liz needed him to bail her out of?

The next morning Liz talked him into letting her borrow his truck. She didn't say what she needed it for and he didn't feel like asking, just made it clear to her to bring it back to him in one piece. Then sometime after lunch, he caught her sneaking steaks and a pie up to the apartment, where he was introduced to the new guy; a grown man with an etch-a-sketch; yeah, this one was a real keeper. After about ten minutes of uncomfortable silence at the table, the guy, TJ, offered to make a portrait of him on his etch-a-sketch. Luke responded by excusing himself back down to the diner. While he'd poured coffee and took orders, he'd ransacked his brain for any way to help Liz realize what a mistake she was making; but he couldn't find anything. It wasn't that he was a very judgmental guy, but with the way he'd seen his sister hurt over and over again by her choices, he couldn't help being the skeptic that he was.

They left not much later to partake in the reunion over at the high school, then not long after that the Firelight festivities began and the herd of customers thinned out until he was alone. He'd seen the usual bonfire schedule when he'd been over at the bank to make the weekly deposit and not that surprising, he didn't spot the flames through the window of the diner until over half an hour later. _Some things just never change in this town_, Luke had thought and went back to his paperwork.

But here he was, locking up the diner behind him and crossing the street to join the rest of the people in the town square, all of which were pretty tipsy from Founders Day punch. The trees were packed with gigantic paper maché stars and the Gazebo, as well as the bushes around it were covered by twinkle lights. The town troubadour was playing in almost the same spot he played in during the day, only now he was joined by a violinist, a cellist and a drummer. Kirk was walking around talking nonsense into his walkie talkie. This was specifically the type of event Luke preferred to avoid, yet he was there, surprisingly enough because TJ, of all people, had come into the diner and asked him to come out. Normally, Luke wouldn't be that easy to talk into anything and only a few people possessed the gift to persuade him, but as TJ had pointed out, the pile of receipts had become pretty small and it didn't take long before he was done.

As he searched the crowd for his sister, he was almost shanghaied by a tipsy Carrie, along with two of her friends. While talking to them, he made sure his backside was safely out of the way of the women's reach. Finally something he'd learned from the many times he'd been in close proximity of Babette and Miss Patty when they had one too many, or any other day for that matter. When he finally caught sight of Liz and TJ, talking to Miss Patty and a couple of other people over by the Gazebo, Luke excused himself and quickly made his way over. He only heard what seemed to be the end of a story.

- ...they turn around, TJ said. - And say; 'Hey, look at that booth with the nice sign'. They come over, take a look at Lizzie's stuff, and bam, they're hooked.

The little group seemed to be really interested in what TJ was saying while Liz was linking arms with his and looking at him with complete adoration in her eyes. Miss Patty was the first one to spot him.

- Well, well, Luke, she said. - Nice to see you join us.

- Oh, hi, Luke, Liz said as she turned around. - I didn't see you there.

- Yeah, well, Luke shrugged. - I heard it through the grape vine that you two were leaving after the festival.

- He means I told him, TJ explained.

- Yeah, anyway, Luke continued. - I figured I'd come and see you off.

- I'm glad you did, Liz replied, happily.

- So, no babysitting tonight, Luke, Miss Patty asked him.

- Not tonight, Patty, Luke replied, not bothering to get anymore into the matter than that.

Why did Miss Patty have to be in everybody else's business? Luckily Liz gestured for Luke to walk with her a little away from the crowd and he gratefully followed her lead.

- See you later, Liz, Patty called out.

Liz gave the woman a quick wave over her shoulder with her free hand and took a sip from her cup with the other.

- Can you believe this thing, Liz asked. - It hasn't changed one bit since we were kids.

- Yeah, Luke nodded. - Same crazy gathering that Mom would take us to.

- And then Dad after she died, Liz pointed out.

Luke smiled fondly at the memory. He might've hated the festival, but his dad's constant insistence to keep the old family traditions, even though most of them were to please their mom, was nice.

- He hated it worse than we did, he chuckled. - He only took us 'cause mom liked it.

- Of course, Liz said. - That Founder's Day punch...

- Lethal, Luke finished.

- The first time I ever threw up on booze, Liz recollected. - It was Founder's Day punch.

- That's a nice story, Luke chuckled.

- So, Liz finally said. - Do you do it a lot?

- Do what a lot, Luke asked.

- Babysit.

- What, Luke asked, a little too sharply.

- Oh for Pete's sake, Liz sighed. - I'm just curious, that's all. With what Patty said and what I saw when I came here, you can't blame a girl for asking.

- Geez Liz, not you, too. We're just friends.

- Well then, how many times have you watched your friend's baby, Liz asked.

- Twice, Luke replied.

- Twice and there's already a crib at your place?

Luke sighed. He wanted to lie and tell her the crib was Lorelai's and that he was just borrowing it, but Liz would know he was lying. He could say a lot of things about his sister, but she had a way of reading him. Growing up, she'd always known which girls he liked, when something bothered him, as well as which things she did that bugged him the most. Generally Liz, despite the misdirections in her own life, she'd been and still was very perceptive when it came to him.

- You bought a crib just to babysit?

- Don't tell Lorelai, Luke begged her. - She thinks the crib is the one dad got for Jess in case you decided to come home to visit.

- Why don't you want her to know, Liz asked.

- Lorelai's an independent woman, Luke explained. - If she knew I bought a crib to help her, she'd insist on paying for it. She's already working herself half to death taking care of that kid, opening a business as well as keeping a job on the side.

- Now I get why you didn't want her going in to work, Liz acknowledged.

- She's just taking on a lot, so I'm...

- So you're playing dad, Liz concluded.

- What? Liz, Luke objected. - Geez, no.

- There's _talk_, Luke, Liz told him. - You took the kid for the night...

- Lorelai nearly collapsed in the diner from exhaustion, Luke pointed out.

- You're seen around that kid constantly...

- Lorelai eats at the diner every single day, Luke explained.

- You were at the hospital the day he was born.

- Because she went into labor at the diner and there was no one else there to take her, Luke replied.

- Come on, Luke. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, Liz sighed. - On the contrary, I think it's good. You did a great job with Jess and he was a real mess when I sent him to you. Dad or no dad, that kid there is lucky to have you in his life.

Luke didn't answer, just studied his shoes with newfound fascination.

- You're a great guy, Liz continued. - If there'd been more of you in this world, the less chance people like me would screw up our kids.

- Liz, you didn't...

- I did, she said, cutting him off. - I failed Jess, but I'm better now. We've started talking again. He tells me about school and life and I tell him about mine. We're not exactly winning a prize anytime soon, but things are definitely better now.

- I heard you talking just now. It does seem like it's going pretty good.

- More than good, Liz insisted, glancing over her shoulder at TJ who was still back by the Gazebo, entertaining the group. - He really looks after me. You know, I haven't done pot in months, not since I met him. I'm barely even drinking. Gary only let me have one cup of punch before switching us over to club soda.

- That's good, Luke nodded. - Wait, who's Gary?

- That's TJ's real name, Liz informed him.

- TJ's real name is Gary, Luke asked in disbelief.

- Yeah.

- Gary?

- Yeah.

- How the heck did he get.., Luke began, then simply shook his head. - Never mind.

- I should go pack up my things, Liz shrugged, then fished something out of her pocket and placed it in the palm of his hand.

It was a pair of earrings.

- I just made these last night, she told him. - You can give them to your wife. Or _Lorelai_. Whoever...

- Thanks, Luke told her, ignoring the searching look she gave him. - Will I see you again, or should we say goodbye right now?

- Actually me and TJ are taking off real soon, so we might as well do it right now.

Luke gave his sister a big hug, as well as grabbing the opportunity to mess a bit with her hair, a little payback for her incessant teasing of him with the fake rumors.

- Tell Gary I went back to your place, she asked him.

- Will do.

He stood there, watching his sister go for a moment before turning around to find TJ. He spotted him right away, watching the bonfire, which was mostly surrounded by couples.

- TJ, Luke said, as he approached him.

- Oh, hi, TJ replied. - You're here, cool.

- So Liz went back to my place to get your stuff and she said for me to let you know.

- Okay, TJ nodded. - Thanks.

- So, Luke sighed. - Look, so it seems like things are going good for Liz, which is different and a nice change for once. I also heard you guys are thinking about moving here, so I, well I wanted to let you know that it's okay by me.

- I didn't realize we needed your permission.

- No, Luke shook his head. - I didn't mean to. I was just trying to say that since Liz has a history with guys that you, well, that you'd be like the others. But actually, you seem like a pretty good guy.

- Thanks, you're a dick, TJ replied, bluntly.

Luke barely had time to register TJ walking away, as at the same time he spotted Lorelai walking towards him.

- So, she said. - I just heard the tail end of that conversation and I'm assuming you haven't changed your name to Richard?

- Long, long story, Luke chuckled. - I'll tell you later, but here's a teaser; the word Etch-A-Sketch comes up.

- I'm hooked, Lorelai said, approvingly.

- Hey, so where's William, Luke wondered, surprised to suddenly see the woman without the infant. - Is Rory watching him?

- No, Lorelai shook her head. - He's at Sookie's actually. My parents had a thing tonight and dragged me and Rory with them. Of course when mom saw that I was bringing Rory and not a man. Why didn't she just _ask_ me to bring a man? She decided to marry me off to dad's business partner.

- _What_?

- Luckily the marriage was cut short when a major business collision took place and they had to run off and strategize. Me and Rory mostly spent the night with the rolling pins.

- The what, Luke asked confused.

- Dad and Jason's secretaries. - The only person duller than them was the guy making the speech.

- Sounds like you had quite the evening, Luke remarked, dryly.

- How about you? How come I see you out here at the bonfire? Aren't you generally against public displays of town affection?

- Liz and TJ dragged me out, Luke shrugged.

- Oh, are they still here?

- They're packing up their things right now, so they'll leave pretty soon.

- Oh, okay, Lorelai nodded. - Yeah, I remembered hearing they were leaving tonight and it's late, so it makes sense.

Luke heard the slight sadness in her voice and he felt the earrings burning a hole in his pocket. He didn't know much about jewelry, but he knew they weren't the kind that Nicole would appreciate. True, he had only really glanced at them before putting them in his pocket, but as Liz had mentioned Lorelai's name, Luke could only imagine those earrings on her. A vision that was only strengthening, as he saw Lorelai right in front of him. So he felt himself pulling his hand out of his pocket and placing the earrings in the palm of Lorelai's hand.

- Here, he said softly.

- Pretty, Lorelai said, confused.

- Liz made them yesterday, Luke explained. - She wanted you to have them.

- Oh, Lorelai muttered. - Great. Well, be sure to tell her thanks from me, okay?

- I will, Luke promised.

They turned to watch the fire in silence, but it wasn't one of their usual comfortable silences. He wasn't completely sure why, but it felt kinda loaded. Lorelai seemed to be feeling it too, as she had buried her hands in her pocket and gently swayed from side to side.

- Hey, did you see the troubadour has a band, Lorelai suddenly asked him.

- I saw, Luke muttered.

- I thought he was all 'there can only be one' about his troubadour -ness; is that a word? Troubadour -ness?

- Don't ask me, Luke shrugged.

- Okay, so he was at least very Highlander-y style about the whole thing a couple of years ago when that other troubadour was here. So here I'm wondering; why the sudden change? Does Taylor have compromising pictures of him or something?

- You're seriously asking me about my theory on the inner workings of the nut who sings at street corners, Luke asked.

- Good point.

TBC


	68. What about the sink?

AN: Ok, so I'm pissed off at my net now, cause after some lightening on Sunday, my regular net doesn't work at home. The wireless one works, but the connection is so bad I have to hold the computer up towards the window to stay online. It's fun for people to watch or imagine, but not so much fun doing. So now I have to do most my net-work at the school, which is a 25 minute walk away. pout As usual, Steph, you're a wonderful beta :)

**smileyGGfan** - I did, but I usually repeat my answers in AN's in case other people were wondering as well. The point is so people won't have to ask again later on. Not that it helps much, seeing as most of the time I end up being asked the same questions two or three times at least... lol. Don't worry, the worst case scenario of yours is not happening. Yes, there were some dialogue borrowing last chapter, but I do feel I wrote a lot of my own, despite not having much opportunity to do so. Sometimes there's only so much rewriting I can do. Also, I love, love, LOVE your latest vid. I recommend everyone here to search for your nick at Youtube to watch it. I hope you got my PM ;)

**Ele** - As promised I said the chapter would either come yesterday or today, so today it is. Thanks again for the video dedication :) So, here's to you ;) I think both Lorelai and Anna should wake up this season, hopefully at least one of them will soon.

**greatest hits10508** - Wow, you re-read the whole thing? I take that as a major compliment :)

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - You're not the only one who's told me they're happy their parents split up. Some people are meant to be together, others are better off on their sepparate paths. As long as they make the split best possible for their kids. Yeah, I had to mention the troubadour eventually. I really don't remember who it was who wanted me to bring him in, but when I rewatched the scene to see what I had to use and what I could change, I really noticed the troubadour, so I had to include him. I also love the song he sings there. I want it. Anyone know where to find it?

**Severien** - You're not the only one who wasn't impressed with episode 12. The writers seem to be writing in different directions. In episode 10 and 11 it really looks like Lorpey is going towards the end and all of a sudden they have the two of them look a bit too settled as a couple and the fight was nowhere what I had expected. Hopefully the next one will be better. I recommend you trying to watch episode 11, that one was a real good one. Best one in the season so far, not that it's a major achievement... lol

* * *

Lorelai always hated it when people asked questions like 'how are you?', 'how's it going?' or 'how was your... _insert appropriate event here_?', because they were questions uttered out of politeness and not out of genuine concern. God forbid if anyone were to actually give an honest reply to either one of them and the person asking were forced to ask 'why' and thereby get emotionally invested in the other person's problems. If this week of hers were to get any worse, Lorelai would most likely snap at whoever next decided to ask these exact questions.

It hadn't started out this bad, as on Monday morning, Sophie, the owner of Cletus and Desdemona, had brought the horses by for Lorelai and Sookie to meet. This had been followed up by Tom giving the prospective inn owners an update on the upcoming events in the restoration of the Dragonfly. Lorelai had been forced to move a meeting to make her available to oversee a delivery of hardware for Wednesday morning, but she hadn't thought it was that big of a problem just then. She hadn't factored in her mother calling her Tuesday evening, informing her about the mandatory luncheon with her grandmother, as well as a direct order to get her hair done; forcing her to spend almost her entire Wednesday morning pleading for the hairdresser's to work her in for a quick and simple wash'n cut. And whatever time was left before she had to take off, Tom used it to carefully approach her and Sookie about the missing paychecks. An issue, Lorelai had been putting off again and again, in hopes to have it resolved before it became a problem. Unfortunately, the banks had reached their verdict about the line of credit and the answer had been 'no'.

Having been kept in the dark about this, the news almost triggered a panic attack in the usually so bubbly chef and Lorelai had to usher her out of the room with William in her arms to calm down, before assuring their trusty contractor that they would do everything in their power to fix the problem before Tom was forced to shut down operation. The time was limited, both until Tom no longer could keep the work going as well as Lorelai having to take off to reach a lunch meeting, followed by a doctor's appointment for William, then another two meetings before she had an evening shift over at the Maiden's Teacup. The two women went over their options in their heads and none of them were very favorable. Lorelai didn't want to obligate herself yet again to her parents' charity, no matter how quickly she'd be able to pay them back once the inn was up and running. It was one thing going to them for the sake of fulfilling Rory's dream, but her own was one that had to be done without their involvement at all, otherwise she'd simply not hear the end of it. Sookie had suggested taking Luke up on one of his many offers to help, but Lorelai just didn't know how comfortable she'd be with asking the unknowing father of her child for such a huge favor. And even if William hadn't happened, she knew she'd still have trouble asking him. However, to give Sookie peace of mind, she'd agreed to keep Luke as a last resort, should they not find any other solution.

This brainstorming cheated Lorelai out of her original plan, which had been to make a quick pit stop at Luke's to get a caffeine fix before venturing into what she knew was going to be a long day. This still didn't help her make the lunch meeting on time, which lead her to having to work extra hard to maintain her credibility with the insurance rep that was going to draw up the plan for the Dragonfly's policy. Effectively this meant she was not only late for William's long overdue doctor's appointment to have a couple of shots done, which the baby didn't appreciate and cried the whole time, but she was chronically late for the remaining meetings as well as work.

Thursday mid-morning was the closest Lorelai had come to relaxation, as the shampoo girl gently massaged her scalp. For the first time this week, it hadn't been viewed as a problem that Lorelai had brought William with her somewhere, as one of the hairdressers recently had become an aunt and thought babies were the most wonderful thing on the planet. Lorelai let the eager girl hold William for a moment, while she quickly explained what she needed done and also let the girl watch over the baby while she got her hair washed over at the shampoo sink. It felt like she was finally getting that break she had been craving for the last couple of days, but of course her phone had to ring just as the shampoo girl had started rinsing her hair. As much as she wanted to ignore it and just let herself relax, Lorelai couldn't, seeing as she hadn't talked to Rory since Sunday, due to both of their busy schedules. However it wasn't Rory, but one of the people from the company that was delivering the fancy sink that her and Sookie had ordered all the way from Canada, asking her to come down to give her 'okay' so they could install it and be on their way.

With Sookie, who had said just the day before that she was going to be there, not even answering her phone and Michel being busy with his work over at the Tally Rand hotel, Lorelai had no choice but to have the shampoo girl rinse out the remaining shampoo, pay and take William with her to the inn, only to find out that the delivery people had tired of waiting and left by the time she got there, taking the sink with them. If she hadn't been holding her son in her arms at that moment, Lorelai was sure she would've screamed in sheer frustration. Instead, she calmly walked out the door, strapped William back into his car seat and drove over to Sookie's house.

It took several minutes of banging incessantly on the door until Lorelai finally detected movement from inside.

- _Okay, I'm coming_, Sookie shouted on the other side of the door.

At any other day, Lorelai would've felt sympathy towards Sookie's tired appearance, especially considering everything Lorelai herself had been through since New Years. But at that point, she was simply feeling too tired, frustrated, and betrayed to even care.

- You said you were gonna meet the sink guy at the inn, Lorelai greeted her friend.

- I did, Sookie asked, confused.

- Yeah, Sookie, Lorelai said, aggravated. - You said you were going to meet him to approve the sink and sign for it?

- Oh, Sookie dismissed with a wave of her hand and walked into the living room, away from her. - Tom could have done that.

Not believing how carefree Sookie's attitude on having once again failed to follow through on her share of the work, Lorelai followed her friend.

- _No_, Sookie, she exclaimed. - Tom couldn't have done that, because _you_ insisted that you had to approve the sink before it was installed.

- I did, Sookie once again replied, absently before realizing. - Oh, I did, didn't I? Oh, _shoot_, oh, shoot, oh, _sugar foot_.

- Cutesy swearing is not helping me right now, Lorelai warned her.

- Okay, Sookie nodded. - let's just call them and have them deliver the sink tomorrow.

- No, they can't deliver the sink tomorrow, Lorelai informed her.

- Why not, Sookie asked.

- Because they already sent it back to Canada, Lorelai explained, trying to explain the situation without completely snapping. - Now we have to get them to reship it back here and it's gonna cost us. We're already in enough financial trouble as it is without having to repay shipping fees because you can't get out of bed in time.

- Look, I'm sorry, Sookie apologized. - But I got no sleep last night. Davey cried forever. When he finally dozed off, I did as well. It happenes.

- That's no excuse, Lorelai told her friend. - I've reworked my schedule so many times lately to pick up your slack; and now when I finally needed something in return, just an hour to myself to get my hair done so I wouldn't have to add another one of my mother's many tirades to my already too long list of agonies, you stood me up! Worst of all, you don't even seem that upset about it. I'm beginning to think that I am the only one who cares about getting this inn up and running.

- That's not fair, Sookie objected. - This is just as much my dream as it is yours.

- Then _be_ here, Lorelai exclaimed. - Contribute! Don't have me pull this load on my own because I am about to lose it here!

- What about Michel, Sookie asked. - Why didn't you call him?

- I _did_ call Michel, Lorelai sighed. - But he had to work. He can't up and leave it whenever we need him to do us a favor. He has a job, he has responsibilities. This is a you and me operation, Sook. Michel is helping enough as it is, especially considering the fact that we're not paying him.

- What do you want me to do, Sookie asked, aggravated. - I said I'm sorry, but I have a baby to take care of.

- Well, so do I, Lorelai snapped. - This little bundle of joy in my arms is just as much work for me as Davey is to you. And let's not forget that you have Jackson to share the responsibilities with.

- And you have Luke, Sookie pointed out.

- _What_, Lorelai asked, wondering what on earth Sookie meant with this. - Sookie, Luke's _married_.

- I know, Sookie sighed. - I wasn't insinuating that... What I meant was that married or not he's there for you. He helps you out.

- So the fact that he's babysat William a couple of times while I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown makes it the same as having a partner in the house?

- I didn't say that, Sookie objected. - I was just... God, I'm so tired.

- I shouldn't have to run to Luke and have him pick up the pieces, Lorelai sighed. - I should be able to trust my partner to be there when I need her to be.

- I missed _one_ meeting, Sookie reasoned.

- _Every_ meeting, Sookie, Lorelai corrected. - _Every_ meeting. I'm going insane here. I wasn't supposed to have to do everything by myself. That's why we became partners, so we could back each other up. But I'm the Tower of Pisa verging on tipping over and I have nothing to lean on.

- I didn't know I was gonna be pregnant when we decided to open the inn, Sookie pointed out.

- And I did, Lorelai asked. - If anyone here gets to play the 'element of surprise' card here, it should be me. At least you were married and trying for a baby when it happened, while I kinda just dropped in and passed the test without studying. And believe me, I'm not complaining about having William, because I can't imagine my life without him, but I am up to my neck constantly with one thing after another. I need back-up. I need to know that I'm not alone in this.

- You're _not_ alone in this, Sookie told her.

- I need more than words here.

- I'm doing the best I can, Sookie exclaimed, on the verge of tears.

Feeling the tension from the exchange, William had begun fussing. Lorelai tried to calm herself down for his sake, but she was close to failing.

- You know what, I have to go, Lorelai muttered, shifting William around in her arms to calm him down.

She turned around and went in the direction of the front door.

- What are we gonna do about the sink, Sookie called after her, but Lorelai didn't answer.

As the door slammed behind her, Lorelai leaned back against it, letting herself sink to the ground. She knew she didn't really have time to do this, her grandmother's luncheon starting at noon and she had promised her mother not to be late, but she had to give herself a moment to gather herself, otherwise she would simply fall apart. She wasn't sure how much more she could take, the worrying, the constant tight schedule, the strong need to bite both Sookie and Michel's heads off, while at the same time composing herself for her son's sake.

With everything that was happening, she hadn't had a single moment to even _try_ to think of an alternative solution for the inn's financial difficulties. And even though her and Sookie had agreed to look into the problem further before settling on asking Luke for help, Lorelai acknowledged that unlike most of the other problems, this one had a solution. And a solution, no matter how embarrassing and uncomfortable it would be, sounded pretty damn good right about now.

William seemed to pick up on her tense expression, as he used one of his little hands to pull on the neckline of her jacket. Lorelai looked down and found herself staring into the deep, pensive stare that her son seemed to have mastered, despite being only three months old. Giving him a tired smile in return, she planted a kiss on his temple and muttered.

- Okay, let's go ask daddy if he can help us out.

TBC


	69. Meltdown in the Park

AN: Ok, so I know this is a short chapter, but what can I say, they happen every now and then. Wow, 69, dirty number, sadly, not so dirty chapter... lol. As always a great big thanks to my trusty beta, Steph!

**Severien** - Yeah, there were several good points in that last episode. Like how Luke was there for her, but he didn't impose. He just did things kinda in the background. He was there as a real friend. I seriously loved Luke's expression at the end towards Dopey, the whole "Where the hell have you been?" My favorite bit of the episode was the Babette/Paul Anka scene. Finally they used a fact dated pre-season 7; that Paul Anka is afraid of the steps.

**GiGi892** - He's a little over 3 and a half months, actually. Norway is airing 7x07 on Wednesday, but I've watched the latest episodes online, so I'm very up to date on events.

**Alexia** - Aha, I knew my monstrous Starfury sig would lead to something good... lol. I do wish however you'd gone with your original plan to review each chapter, cause I love reading how people's opinion changes throughout the story. And LMAO on the "where's the baby" thing, I know what you mean though. After I watched the Lotr spoof with Jack Black and Sarah Michelle Gellar, whenever I saw the Rivendell meeting afterwards I always caught myself wondering where the pantsless hobbit was... lol And don't worry about Nicole, I doubt anyone will have sympathy with her when she leaves the story.

**smileyGGfan** - lol, yeh a FAQ would've been great, but this site doesn't allow links so I wouldn't exactly get to refer people to the FAQ anyway. And like I mentioned above, William is more like a little over 3 and a half months, but it's too much of a hassle to pinpoint something more specific conserning his age.

**spinningcreation** - I too hope Lorelai will learn a lesson before the inevitable LL reunion. She's but a shadow of the person she used to be and I'm so tired of disliking my favorite character on the show. Hopefully when Dopey's out of there we'll see some character growth there. And as usual I will say, it will happen when I plan it to happen. In the months I've been writing this story that hasn't changed.

* * *

Lorelai got up from the bench, wiped away the last of her tears with the side of her hand, her breathing still being interrupted by the occasional hick-up. Uncomfortably she pulled on the edge of her coat, smoothing out the creases and ran her hand through her unusually untidy hair, before she turned and faced him, giving him that grateful smile that always seemed to get to him.

She had beautiful eyes. It wasn't the first time Luke had noticed this. Aside from her incurable coffee addiction, the eating habits from another world and her constant need to drive him insane, her great big blue eyes were what Luke noticed the most. People had different ways of communicating and with Lorelai it was easy for people to assume that hers was through the mouth, seeing as she rarely ever closed it; but that was just a misconception. Lorelai was an articulate woman; there was no doubt about it. But her soul lied first and foremost in her eyes. Those eyes were the reason Luke always knew when something was up. They were the reason he, the minute he spotted her tonight, had asked her if everything was alright.

- I... ah... um.., Lorelai muttered. - I should go home. Lane's babysitting and I don't wanna keep her waiting.

- Sure, Luke nodded.

He could've pointed out that if they actually _had_ had dinner, as Lorelai had suggested when she came into the diner this morning, she wouldn't've been home for another two hours. More, if Silvanos had an especially large crowd tonight. But he didn't. He got it. Lorelai liked to appear as someone who had everything under control. And just admitting to someone, even someone you trusted, that you really weren't sure about what you were doing... Luke could understand why Lorelai wouldn't exactly count that as one of her most shining moments. So he got why she now was distancing herself from him, making an excuse to withdraw.

- Thank you, she told him, before she turned around and headed for her house, clinging on to the little dignity she had left.

Luke watched her leave, letting himself process what had just taken place. He didn't want to claim he'd expected this, but signs had been pointing towards something not being quite right. He'd been worried when Lorelai first had let him know there were some potential financial difficulties at the inn and that the banks were somewhat reluctant to help her out. Then with her recent episodes of fatigue and her decreasing appearances at the diner, despite her self-proclaimed addiction to his coffee, Luke had known something was up. So when Lorelai had broken down in tears in his arms tonight, he hadn't really been that surprised.

So where did this feeling of confusion come from? While he'd been sitting on the bench with her, assuring her that everything was gonna be alright, that she wasn't failing, he'd simply pushed away every other thought that came to mind. Looking up, Luke noticed that the truck was blocking the view to the diner from where he was sitting, which unabled any overly curious customers to follow the goings-on outside. This meant he could go on in and leave Ceasar in charge of closing up, giving him time to head upstairs and think without having to deal with the nosy people of this town. It was a slow night, so Ceasar didn't mind closing up. And with Babette and Miss Patty not present, no one there cared that he'd gone out all dressed up only to return less than an hour later.

When he got upstairs he retrieved a cold beer from the fridge and sat down in his trusty recliner. Nicole was in Boston this week, due to come back Sunday, so he wasn't expected anywhere. His time was his and his alone to do whatever he himself wanted to do. What he really wanted was to forget whatever it was that Lorelai had said that was bothering him and instead just focus on watching the game he knew was on tv tonight. Before Lorelai had stopped by the diner earlier that day, that had been Luke's exact plan; to have a couple of beers and enjoy the game. All he needed to do was to reach for the remote and turn on the tv. Simple enough. However, the remote remained on the table and Luke took another swig of his beer.

- _...there are very few times in my life when I find myself sitting around thinking; 'I wish I was married'..._

For some reason everything Lorelai had said about marriage kept repeating itself in his head. Everything that Lorelai thought a marriage entailed. At first this had bugged him because nothing she had said about marriage felt that familiar to him, and he was married. So he should know this. Right? But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that the reason it was bugging him, was because deep down he knew she was right. This of course, led him onto a whole new trail of thoughts.

Luke still didn't know why he had proposed to Nicole. He had had no intentions to do so when he booked the cruise; it was just supposed to be a trip. Just a little getaway for the two of them, nothing major. But then they had to board the _Love Boat_ itself and they had been the only couple not married or at least headed in that direction. It was when seeing this Luke figured it hadn't been a good idea to go on a cruise of all things. And in retrospect accepting drinks from the many trays the very _helpful_ waiters had carried past them, probably hadn't been the best of ideas. So more than a little tipsy, far away from his element, Luke had found himself on one knee in the middle of the Lido deck. He really wasn't a fan of public displays of affection. But what hell, when in Rome, right?

The fact that they didn't even manage to make it through the trip as a couple should've been enough of an indicator on how big of a mistake they had made. When both sides file for divorce, it should really mean the end of the marriage; especially when they went as far as to have the papers completely drawn up, the only thing lacking being one last signature until they were no longer husband and wife. Nicole had been the one to surprise him there, suggesting they could try going back to dating. Luke still didn't know how she'd talked him into it, but she had.

He wanted to say that things had been good after that, but the more he thought about it, the more he began wondering why they had even gotten back together in the first place. They hadn't even gone on one date before things started going bad. He'd understood long ago that Nicole simply didn't like Lorelai and he hadn't expected Nicole to understand their friendship. Luke didn't blame her for reading a little too much into things, but wasn't a relationship supposed to be based on some sort of trust? He was tired of constantly having to defend himself, constantly feeling guilty, when he hadn't even done anything wrong. The bottom line should be that if she expected their relationship to work, then the least she could do was to trust him.

Nicole couldn't honestly say she was happy with this arrangement, with the way they seemed to be fighting more than actually having a relationship. At least he wasn't. The more Luke thought this over, the more he was set on his conclusion; that his marriage was over.

TBC


	70. Of Jam Hands and Spoons

AN: Ok, so this week's episode, I'm not surprised that Dopey got the "good guy" exit, but it doesn't mean I like it. I did like the fact that Lorelai actually yelled at him, was generally angry with him, but it didn't feel enough. But I did like that Dopey fessed up to having taking advantage of her vulnerability. No one can claim he didn't anymore, because he himself admitted to doing it. That makes me happy. However it was nice to finally see a real awakening in her. Now, maybe, possibly we can begin seeing her return to herself and not the shell that's been posing as her this season.

AN 2: As usual, a great big thankie-hug to my beta, Steph, who's despite all odds are still with me, eagerly betaing, despite having to deal with my difficult self for the past eight months. Now that's an achievement, you guys ;) Think Lorelai at her worst and you have me on MSN.

**smileyGGfan** - Well, with this one it's been 20 chapters since he was born, so of course some time has passed ;) Yeah, I know the timing coincided well with the current show. I had hoped to get this chapter out sooner, but well, I guess I timed when during the day it was gonna be released pretty badly. At least it seems like it. Lately it's been like the movement on this site has been slow, then I update and boom, so does everyone else... lol. And in addition to that, the site "forgot" to send out alerts for my chapter last week. Now, that pissed me off. Upload the vids to whatever you want, as long as you explain how I get a hold of them if it's not self-explanatory, I'm good.

**cywen69** - I'm very happy to hear you're beginning to get excited. I am too. I love writing this story and I have so many things coming that I've been dying to write. As for Nicole taking the direction she did in the show, well, my only explanation for it would be that she knew it was over a while ago, only she doesn't find it important to end one relationship before beginning another. Well, my only sane explanation that is.

**bianca89** - I am repeating myself, but what the hell... Luke at this point doesn't believe he stands a chance with Lorelai, so why should he make the assumption that William is his? Luke knows Lorelai was dating someone around that time, so of course he assumes that that someone also is William's dad. I mean, if you were in Luke's shoes, wouldn't you?

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - Thank you so much for letting me know which song that was. (for the other inquiring minds out there it's: "Mona Lisa" by Grand Lee Phillips) I found it pretty quickly after that and I have already played it like fifty times. If it were anyone else, I would say you'd struck a point with things she'd have to have thought through, but this is Luke and Lorelai. As much as she's dreading his reaction, she knows him well enough to know that there are some things he simply won't do.

**GiGi892** - It's about what Luke sums up after having just witnessed Lorelai's meltdown. I made a very difficult decision when writing that capter, because the more I included of the actual meltdown, the easier the shift of focus would've gone to Lorelai's situation, only last chapter wasn't about Lorelai, but more about a Luke epiphany. I could've written two chapters, one about the meltdown and one about the aftermath, but it just felt a bit like overkill to me, plus, you know how much I hate directly copying a scene. I usually try to steer away from almost direct duplicated scenes. So maybe I didn't do the best of jobs on capturing the moment in the last one, but I did give my best.

**Severien** - Yes, that's one of the things I love about Luke and Lorelai. It doesn't matter if they are friends, lovers or fighting, when one of them needs the other, they are there, no questions asked. As for asking Lorelai about the father. Unless your best male friend harbors similar feelings for you that Luke does for Lorelai, those two situations can't compare. As for who Luke thinks it is? He made the same assumption Rory made, that it's "the guy Lorelai was seeing at the time".

* * *

Luke hadn't yet seen her since the incident in the park. After having relied so much on Ceasar to close up and take on extra shifts in the last couple of weeks, Luke had given the guy the day off as a thank you. This of course made the diner demand his full attention, unabling him to go anywhere or do anything for the whole day. Lorelai had also failed to show up that day, not that it really surprised him, with the state she'd been in. Lane, when she came in for her shift, had mentioned something about Lorelai having back to back meetings all over the place, as well as helping her find her own apartment, seeing as the girl had been kicked out of her own house and didn't want to live off the goodwill of others any more than she had to, no matter how close she and Lorelai were.

So all in all it made sense that he didn't see Lorelai until Saturday mid-morning, when she walked in with William in her arms and the usual baby bag slung over her right shoulder. It hit him how big William was getting. Before, Luke hadn't really paid much attention at how quickly kids grew in the beginning. When Jess had been little, Luke had only seen his nephew on rare occasions, so he hadn't thought much about the growth in the boy. He didn't think much about how Jess one time would still be drinking from a bottle and then the next he'd purely be on solids, crawl and then suddenly he'd be walking, holding onto whatever objects that were around him, pulling on the tablecloth sending whatever was on the table smashing onto the ground. It had just felt natural that Jess would be different each time.

But with William it felt like barely any time had passed, even though Luke knew the boy was rapidly closing in on four months now. Luke remembered how he'd been able to hold him in the palms of his hands; one supporting the head, the other the rest of the body, how much of the time the baby had spent sleeping soundly either in someone's arm or in the bassinet. Now William was more awake, more alert, and more interactive with the people around him. It was a world of difference.

- Hey, she called out, shifting William over to her other arm.

- Hey, Luke replied, the pot already in his hand, from having just taken a round of refilling people's coffees.

- However did you know, Lorelai quipped, as he placed a fresh mug of coffee at her usual table.

- That you were gonna order the same liquid death you always order and sit at the table you always sit at, Luke pointed out dryly. - I really must be clairvoyant.

- Or telepathic, Lorelai suggested. - Hey, try to read my mind.

- Changing the subject completely, Luke said, rolling his eyes. - How are you doing? You okay?

- You're referring to my meltdown in the park, Lorelai stated, already a bit more serious, not completely meeting his eyes.

- It wasn't a meltdown, Luke shrugged.

- Oh, no, Lorelai shook her head. - It was a meltdown. They're even making it into a movie; 'Meltdown in the Park'. Don't worry, it's just a working title. Baz Luhrmann's directing. And the movie Luke wears tights and sings.

- Well, Luke shrugged. - As long as I don't end up dancing in the middle of the woods with forty other guys, I'm good.

- And I'm gripped with the sudden urge to watch 'Men in tights' for the Billionth time, Lorelai commented. - Hey, maybe we can get Mel Brooks to make our movie.

- Oh goody, Luke remarked, rolling his eyes.

- Hey, this is the man whose face one day, when I finally work up the courage to get a tattoo, is gonna grace my butt, Lorelai remarked. - Show some respect.

- Suddenly I feel very sorry for your future husband, Luke retorted.

Lorelai simply grinned.

- But you're okay, he asked.

- Thanks to my knight in shining armor. By the way, thanks for the coffee yesterday, Lorelai told him, referring to the take-out cup he'd asked Lane to bring her. - You really have no idea what a welcoming sight it was for me to see that cup sitting on the counter, waiting for me. It really made my day.

- Yeah, well, Luke shrugged. - I figured with the dinner with your parents and all, that you could use a little pick-me-up. Don't want you falling apart on me again. How did it go, by the way?

- Oh, you know, Lorelai shrugged. - My mother had a burning loin, so we went out to dinner instead. And in true Gilmore etiquette, we never argue in public. Mom even kept herself from commenting on dad's caterpillar.

- I'm not even sure I wanna know, Luke remarked.

- Just, the cook ruining the dinner and mom hating dad's new mustache, Lorelai explained.

- Oh, ok. So, what do you want, Luke asked, pulling out his ordering pad.

- Actually, I just ate, Lorelai said, surprising him. - But I was wondering if you wouldn't mind heating up this bottle for me.

- I thought we already had this discussion, Luke said, refusing to take the bottle she was holding up for him.

- It's not what you think, Lorelai chuckled. - I'm starting William on solids, today.

- Already, Luke asked, surprised.

- Already? He's almost four months old, Lorelai reminded him. - Milk's not gonna do it for much longer. At least not on it's own. So I'm starting him on porridge today, which is why I need this milk heated up. I never have and never will resort to using a breast pump, so breast milk is completely out of the question.

- Geez, Luke muttered, blushing at Lorelai's bluntness.

He took the bottle and went in the direction of the kitchen when he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and turned around.

- Wait a minute, he said. - You're gonna give William porridge?

- Yeah, Lorelai nodded.

- _Porridge_, Luke underlined. - You're gonna give him that. Here. In my diner. Today.

- That was the plan, Lorelai confirmed. - Yeah.

- No, Luke replied, shaking his head.

- What, Lorelai asked, confused.

- No, Luke repeated. - You're not gonna do that here.

- Why not?

- Why not? I've seen the way kids eat, there's food flying all over the place.

- It's not like I'm gonna put the bowl in front of him, give him a spoon and say; 'enjoy your meal, try not to hit the wall', Lorelai chuckled. - I'm gonna be running this show myself.

- You're not doing any of it in here, period, Luke said, stubbornly.

- Luke, come on, Lorelai sighed. - We both know you'd never wanna disappoint William. He's been looking forward to this for days.

- He has not, Luke replied, rolling his eyes.

- He has too, Lorelai insisted. - I'll even prove it to you.

She went back to her table where William was sitting, watching the events around him. Bending over the chair she spoke to her son in that usual soft voice she used whenever she addressed a baby.

- Hey there, handsome, she murmured. - You wanna have some porridge, don't you?

William had his eyes fixated on his mother and upon listening to her, he broke into a big smile and squealed while stretching his arms up to touch her face.

- That's cheating, Luke commented, already knowing he was about to give in, as usual.

- Hey, Lorelai shrugged. - What can I say, he's a nut for porridge.

Luke sighed before once more taking the bottle.

- It's gonna be a mess, he pointed out.

- No, it's not, Lorelai promised.

- Is that food gonna go into the kid's mouth and stay there, Luke inquired.

- Yes.

He knew she was lying.

- You're wiping off the table afterwards, he told her, handing her the rag he had hanging over his shoulder, before turning around to heat the bottle up.

- Oh, there's one more thing, Lorelai said.

He turned around.

- _What_, he sighed.

- Can you take some pictures for me, she asked, holding out her digital camera. - I promised Rory I'd e-mail her some pictures of the event.

- Then why don't you just wait until she gets home and do this in your own house?

- I did wait, Lorelai pointed out. - She was supposed to be home this weekend, but then she got sick and we both thought it was probably best not to over-expose William to the bug. Plus, she wasn't very keen on leaving her room.

- Then do it next weekend, Luke suggested, still not getting why she was so set on doing this today of all days.

- She has a big paper she has to work on next weekend, Lorelai informed him. - And we're both really busy during the week, me with work and the inn, Rory with Yale and the paper. Also, based on past performance these past few weeks, William will be walking before me and Rory ever see each other in the flesh again. We've even given up on calling, seeing as we only reach each other's voicemail, anyway. So, now we're e-mailing each other instead.

- So now you'd rather be typing on some computer instead of talking to each other?

- Well, if you look at it like that, Lorelai rolled her eyes.

- Then how do you look at it?

- E-mail is the return to the romantic days of letter writing. It's pure Dickens.

- Well, then I guess it's all a matter of perspective, Luke shrugged. - But why Dickens?

- It's just when I picture letter writing, I picture Charles Dickens.

- Charles Dickens wrote more letters than other people?

- No, it's just I can easily picture him in his study with his dog and his pipe and his fancy feathered pen, writing like, you know; 'Cheerio, old bean. Have a cup of tea. How's Big Ben? How's the Tower of London, Sister Suffragette? Tuppence a bag.'

- He sounds like a fruitcake if you ask me, Luke said, dryly.

- Okay, so maybe his British wasn't full of Mary Poppin's references, but you get what I mean.

William seemed to have grown tired of just watching them, as he let out a loud objection to being ignored. While Lorelai turned her attention back to her son, Luke brought the bottle with him to heat up. When he came back out of the kitchen, the bottle in one hand and a plate in the other, Lorelai had put a bib on William and was measuring up a tiny portion in a cup Luke assumed she'd gone behind the counter to get it. He handed the plate off to the elderly woman by the window, who didn't seem to pay much attention to her own food and was instead watching Lorelai and William with great interest. It was when Luke handed the bottle off to Lorelai that he noticed there was barely anything in the cup, a couple of teaspoons maybe.

- The first time's always just a little taste, Lorelai said, as though she had read his mind.

She added a little bit of the milk in the bottle and mixed it together. It kinda resembled very soggy left-over cereal. Lorelai added a little bit more milk and reached into her bag and fetched a tiny red plastic spoon. She put just a little bit of porridge on the spoon and brought it to William's semi-open mouth. The boy furrowed his brows at the strange lumpy substance in his mouth. It seemed like he was trying to make up his mind on whether or not he liked what he was tasting. Then, as quickly as the food had gone into the mouth, it came out.

- Looks like he doesn't like it, Luke observed with a chuckle.

This didn't discourage Lorelai, who gave the baby another spoonful. This one too ended up on the outside of the mouth. This time, William brought his hand to his mouth and touched this weird stuff his mother was insisting on giving him. By the third spoon, the boy had learned and refused to open his mouth and tried grabbing the spoon, getting the sticky porridge all over the right edge of the bouncy chair he was sitting in. Lorelai used a moist napkin to wipe of the edges of William's mouth and his hands and used the rag Luke had handed her to wipe off the remains on the baby bouncer. Then she unstrapped William from the chair and fed him the remaining milk in the bottle.

The bell rang and in came a couple of customers, who went right over to one of the free tables by the window. Luke snapped an extra photo of mother and son before putting the camera back into the bag and going over to the table to take their order. After preparing two pancakes with bacon and eggs on the side (What was it with people and their insistence to clog their arteries with these disgusting food combinations? Whatever happened to toast or good old oatmeal?), refilling coffee, and preparing two cheese omelettes, he saw Lorelai packing up the bag, supporting a snoozy William against her shoulder. She came over to the counter to pay.

- You're leaving, Luke asked.

- Yeah, she nodded. - Me and Sookie are gonna go over the budget and our financial options. Thanks for letting me do this here and thanks for agreeing to help me eternalize the moment. I really appreciate it.

Luke didn't point out that she'd made him let her, like she always did and simply shrugged the whole thing off.

- Too bad it didn't go so well, he pointed out.

- What are you talking about, Lorelai asked, confused. - That went way better than I thought it was gonna be. The first time Rory tried it she ended up getting a hold of the spoon and throwing it onto mom and dad's newly acquired Persian rug. I thought mom was gonna throw a fit.

- Well, William did try to grab the spoon, Luke pointed out.

- Key word; _try_, Lorelai pointed out. - Rory yanked it right out of my hand and that was only the second time I brought it to her.

Lorelai stopped and smiled fondly at the memory.

- So, she said, snapping out of it, placing the money on the counter. - I gotta take off. Thanks again.

- Wait a minute, he told her, almost reaching out to stop her from leaving. - Hold on a sec.

Lorelai stopped moving and just eyed him, curiously. Luke looked around, to see how many people were watching. Luckily most people were busy eating or watching the busy town through the window and couldn't care less what was going on up at the counter. He pulled out the envelope he had in his back pocket and slid it over the counter towards her.

- What's this, she asked, confused.

- Just, um... open it at home, Luke told her, not really wanting to make a big deal about any of it.

Of course Lorelai didn't listen and opened it, fishing out the check he'd written her the day before. When she read the amount she sunk down onto one of the stools by the counter and looked up at him in pure disbelief.

- A check to me for 30,000 dollars, she muttered, silently, alternating between looking at him and looking at the piece of paper. - This is the money I was gonna ask you for.

- Well, you did ask, he shrugged. - So, there it is.

- No, she shook her head. - I didn't... Not officially. I blubbered an amount to you, and we didn't get to talk about a repayment schedule or anything.

- Don't worry about it, he assured her. - You can pay me back whenever.

- But that's not how you do these things, she objected. - 'Whatever' isn't a word you hear in properly conducted business.

- Well, lucky for you, I don't know that much about properly conducted business, Luke joked. - Just take the money, it's no big deal.

- It's a very big deal, she insisted. - This isn't how I wanted to do this.

- Will you just take the money already?

Luke was beginning to get frustrated on this whole ordeal.

- At least, let us go over the basics, she muttered, pulling out a napkin, scribbling something onto it.

- I don't wanna read that, he told her, matter-of-factly when she slid the paper towards him.

- I'm not leaving until you read this napkin, she said, stubbornly.

Sighing, he read the content of the napkin. Of course she insisted on paying interest, however the number was far too big, so he edited it down to a sufficient percentage that he believed she would accept. Of course he really didn't want interest at all, but he knew she would never accept the loan otherwise. The time schedule she'd put for paying him back seemed all right to him. After scribbling down the changes, he passed the napkin back for her to read.

- That's more than enough, he told her.

- Okay, she nodded, acceptingly, but still wrote something more. - But what about this?

She slid the napkin back to him.

- _Nicole_, he asked.

- Hey! I thought we were writing and sliding.

- What about Nicole, Luke demanded.

- Well, I need to know her role.

- There is none, Luke told her.

He didn't really want to get into his upcoming divorce right away, at least not until he'd talked it over with Nicole. It only seemed right to end things in private before it became world knowledge that Luke Danes was getting divorced.

- But if it's joint money, then I should acknowledge that and thank her the next time I see her, Lorelai pointed out.

- You're not gonna see her, Luke exclaimed. - Now, can we stop talking about this whole thing?

- Okay, Lorelai answered, confused. - But we have to type up something legal and binding for this loan.

- Fine, Luke sighed. - But can we do that another day?

- Sure, Lorelai nodded. - I just have to write down one more thing.

- What is so important now, Luke groaned.

Lorelai quietly slid the napkin towards him. He looked down and read the words; '_Thank you_'.

- You're welcome, he replied.

With that Lorelai yanked the bag back up on her free shoulder and left the diner, her son still sleeping soundly against her shoulder.

TBC


	71. Like mother, like Diner owner?

AN: Ok, I just love the title of the director's cut this week: "_Comfort food_ is not working for Richard and his recovery". Second of all, I love, love, LOVE the new promo. Maybe, possibly, finally the show itself seem to return to normal and best of all: No Lorpey! Makes me all warm and fuzzy inside :) Third, I wanna remind all JJ fic-writers to check out the link I have in my profile for the **JJ Baby-ficathon**. Sign up within the following week, cause the writing commences in March. As always, a super-duper kudos to my lovely beta, Steph (are you wondering how many new ways I can do this shoutout? lol)

**bianca89** - I can't believe I have to argue about this, but to come with some counterpoints for you: Ever heard of "wet dreams"? Easy explanation for _the remains_. Luke is a warmblooded man and I highly doubt he's gone through his life without his share of those. Clothes on the floor and muscle aches could also come from other things than sex. Having said this I'm only gonna tell you one thing; Either accept the choices I made 70 chapters ago or move on to another story. I don't feel I made Luke stupid or slow in this story. I don't mind negative comments or complaints, but when you use a whole review talking about what I wrote about _very_ early in this story instead of commenting on the chapter I just posted, then enough is enough. It's not like I'm going to go back and change it just to please you. Feel free to complain, but do so with what I just posted and not the incident I based my entire story on.

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - LOL, wanna know my dream? I dreamt I was on a similar show like Bratcamp and they didn't let me have any computer access and I was thinking to myself how was I gonna be able to update... lol As for how fast babies grow, tell me about it. It's like one day I'm holding them in my arms and then I blink and they're walking and talking. Time just flies, it's almost scary.

**cywen69** - Well, I based the timing of the first solid meal with when my sister did it with her kids. Don't you worry, the fruit will make an appearance soon enough.

**smileyGGfan** - I dunno, they just gave Dopey a too much of a "good guy" exit for my taste. I mean, the guy admitted to having taken advantage of her when he knew she was vulnerable and she's _crying_ and apologising to _him_? All I can say is PLEASE get him out of there! I just can't take seeing his face there anymore. And wanna know the fun thing? The GG writers apparently can't understand why we are so unhappy with this season's storyline. They honestly _think_ we wanted this triangle? That we wanted a Lorpey marriage? Dramatic tension my ass. And just to reply to your theory. I don't consider the season 7 events as canon, so should I take the story as far as that timewise, I will completely ignore DR's screw-up season.

* * *

- This is insanity, Rory commented as the two of them tried to carry the eight shopping bags as well as a snoozing William into the diner.

- Beyond insanity, Lorelai pointed out. - This is what insanity wants to be when it grows up. And worst of all, this isn't even close to the crazy total. You know that trip of yours to the bathroom? Mom dragged me and William to Toys R Us and bought out the store. I'm not exaggerating. She even arranged so it's all being delivered to my house. William's completely outfitted for five years at least and that includes if he gets the sudden urge to cross-dress.

- Oh, that reminds me. She bought you a wedding dress when you weren't looking.

- _No_, Lorelai exclaimed.

- Vera Wang, Rory nodded.

- Why didn't you stop her, Lorelai groaned.

- You're seriously telling me I'd have a chance against Hurricane Betsy, Rory asked, raising her brows. - At least we got her to calm down in the end.

Lorelai gently put William down in the bouncy chair and strapped him in.

- Hey, where's Luke, Rory suddenly asked, when they both sat down and began taking one useless item after another out of the bags and placing them on the table.

- I don't know, Lorelai said, looking around the diner, seeing only Ceasar carrying some plates out of the kitchen. - Hey Ceasar. Where's Luke?

- Dunno, the man shrugged. - He said something about taking care of some things over in Litchfield.

- Did he say when he was gonna be back?

- He said he'd be gone for a couple of hours, but it's been longer.

Lorelai didn't know why this surprised her so much. Luke had told her himself that Nicole had been gone for a week and it was normal for a husband wanting to see his wife. But then again, why hadn't he just told Ceasar that he was gonna go and see Nicole? Her thoughts were interupted by Rory.

- We really should return it all, she said.

- Easier said than done, my friend, Lorelai pointed out. - Mom is gonna expect to see us with something she bought us. I just wish I could find just one thing in here that doesn't scream; 'I have more things than I could ever want for and to satisfy my shopping need I picked something completely useless that costs more than an average person's monthly paycheck'.

- At least you can just get away with keeping some of the things she bought for William, Rory pointed out.

- Yeah and build another house to put it all, Lorelai said, rolling her eyes.

- Whilst I have to pick something to use that I wouldn't be embarrassed to be caught wearing during a car accident.

- Whatever are you saying, Lorelai teased. - Don't you think this Tropical-print embroidered bikini is just to die for?

- Oh yes, I plan on wearing that together with my nice new turquoise leather jacket.

- At least that will get you noticed.

- Or I could find time in my busy schedule to take up yoga and put the seven hundred dollar yoga bag to good use.

- As long as you watch out for the headstands, Lorelai warned her.

- I've worn a cast once and I never intend to do that ever again.

- That's my smart girl, Lorelai grinned as she continued searching through the bags. - You could always go with the hairclips with diamond Betty Boops on them, or that expensive diamond watch mom insisted on me having.

- Pass, Rory replied. - And why are you trying to pass _your_ watch off on me.

- I'm not trying to pass anything off on you, Lorelai objected. - I am simply trying to help you pick something to keep to please your grandma and besides, you and watches go well together.

- How do me and watches go well together, Rory wanted to know.

- Well, for starters, you're a lot more punctual than I am.

- That's actually a sign that _you_ need a watch a lot more than I do, Rory pointed out.

- Bah, humbug, Lorelai dismissed, peering into the last bag. - Well, I'm running out of options to give you.

- You could always let me have the tote bag, Rory suggested.

- Fat chance, Lorelai retorted. - Besides mom will never let you get away with only keeping the tote bag.

- Whatever happened to the woman who short of insisted on buying me a Hello Kitty fridge, just in case I needed to refrigerate a couple of sodas, Rory muttered, rolling her eyes.

William squirmed and yawned in the bouncy chair and Lorelai checked the diamond watch.

- How reliable would you think this watch is, Lorelai asked.

- Judging by the price and the fact that they set the time in the store, I'd say it's pretty accurate, Rory replied.

- Okay, William will be getting hungry in about half an hour, Lorelai concluded. - Do we sit here or take this party home?

- I have to get back to Yale, actually, Rory told her. - It's late and I have an early class tomorrow.

- Right, class, Lorelai smiled.

- It is what we college students do, Rory shrugged.

- I know, Lorelai nodded. - You have to go and be brilliant.

- I'll try to come home this weekend, Rory promised.

- Excuse me, Lorelai objected, raising her brows. - Try?

­- I have a paper to write and someone misplaced the card swipe schedule for this week, so I don't know if I have to work or not, Rory shrugged. - I'll definitely be at Friday Night Dinner though.

- Great, I won't, Lorelai sighed. - I already promised Jenna I'd do turndown service as well as subbing the desk for a couple of hours while the night manager takes his mother to the airport.

- How about we plan something for next week, Rory suggested.

- Tuesday, Lorelai asked.

- Can't, Rory shook her head. - How about Wednesday?

- That could work, Lorelai said, optimistically.

- No, wait, Rory sighed. - I forgot I have class that night.

- We'll be growing beards before we reach a conclusion, Lorelai said, sadly.

- And I definitely don't have time for that, Rory pointed out. - Why don't we decide this over the phone?

- You seriously wanna play voice mail tag again, Lorelai asked, her brows raised.

- I have a class from eight to eleven and one from two to four, Rory informed her. - Between and after that I will have my phone on and with me at all times.

- Really, Lorelai asked. - Even in the bathroom?

- I'll even bring it with me into the stall, Rory promised. - How's that? By then we'll have made a list over when we're available and not and do this really efficiently.

- So, you're saying you'll only talk to me for as long as it's necessary, Lorelai enquired.

- Well, I do have homework, Rory pointed out.

- My baby doesn't wanna talk to me, Lorelai pouted.

- I'd answer, but I really have to go, Rory replied, getting up.

- Already?

- I said 'soon', didn't I?

- Yeah, Lorelai nodded. - But soon can mean anything from ten minutes to an hour.

- That's your time measurement, not mine.

- At least stay for pie, Lorelai begged.

- I can't, Rory sighed. - But I'll have a pie to go, if that makes you feel better?

- How will that make me feel better, Lorelai enquired.

- I will be thinking of you when I eat it, Rory pointed out.

- It's not the same, Lorelai sighed, eyeing her firstborn with sad eyes. - But I guess I'll take it.

With her daughter walking out the door with her pie in her hand, Lorelai too opted to take hers to go. Due to her balancing William against her shoulder with one hand and carrying the pie with the other and her being the only customer left in the diner, Ceasar helped her with carrying her bags to the car before heading back in to close up.

She parked her car in the usual spot and got out, miraculously managing to both balance her son securely against her shoulder as well as carrying both the shopping bags as well as her purse and locking the car behind her. It wasn't until she reached the porch that she noticed several boxes, that she guessed contained the remains of Emily's crazy shopping spree, filling her porch.

- Heya sugar, Lorelai heard Babette's raspy voice say behind her.

- Hey Babette, Lorelai replied, turning around.

- I hope you don't mind I took the liberty of accepting these things for ya. They came here a couple of hours ago, looking for ya, 'cause you need to sign for everything now-a-days. I remember when me and Morey bought that special stroller for Cinnamon, God rest his soul, from that big mall over in Hartford. And we couldn't take it with us, 'cause Morey had a bad back that day. He'd been Jazzing real bad the day before, I'm telling ya, music can be a dangerous thing. Anyhow, so we told'em they could just leave it by the door, 'cause we were gonna do some more errands and Morey had another gig to get to, but they said we had to be there to sign for it. So we didn't get home until late and we had to call'em the next day and have them come deliver it all over again. So when I saw those guys looking for ya, I thought since you're a busy woman and all, that I'd just sign for it and save you the trouble having to call them tomorrow.

- Thanks, Babette, Lorelai told her. - I appreciate it.

- You want any help carrying those boxes in, Babette enquired. - I'd ask Morey to help, but he's at a gig in New York and Apricot wasn't feeling too well, so I decided to stay behind with'im, you know, just in case.

- Aw, he's sick, Lorelai enquired.

- Just a little bit, sugar, Babette assured her, as she picked up one of the boxes. - But thanks for askin'.

Lorelai unlocked the door and let Babette in. As William began fussing, Lorelai got no opportunity to help the woman carry the boxes. Instead, as she noticed the heavy diaper, she took him upstairs and changed his diaper, using a little bit of cream to avoid development of any rash on her son's moist red-ish skin. When she returned downstairs, she saw the boxes neatly placed next to the couch.

- You need anything else, sugar, Babette asked. - I could make you some nice cocoa, you know.

- Oh, wow, Lorelai sighed, not really wanting her helpful neighbor feel unwelcome. - It's almost William's bedtime and...

- Say no more, the woman replied, already halfway out the door. - Just remember, if you need anything, you know where to find me.

- And I appreciate it, Lorelai grinned.

- Night, sugar, she heard Babette say before the door closed behind her.

William who had calmed down once she'd changed his wet diaper into a dry one, was once again getting restless. This time, Lorelai knew it was because he was hungry. She wasted no time in unbuttoning her shirt and bringing the boy up to her breast. Although William was eating more now than she could give him with just breast milk, the one meal that she made sure she nursed him for was the one right before bed. That was their quiet time together, just her and her beautiful son. No matter how stressful a day might've been, bedtime was always a relaxed affair for the two of them. Usually he also fell asleep while she nursed him, which made the bedtime ritual so much easier.

Some people had immense trouble getting their kids to sleep. It didn't always have to be colic or any other discomforts or illnesses in a child. Sometimes the child simply refused to go to bed. So far, she'd been lucky with William. The only times he gave her trouble regarding sleep was whenever he was abruptly awakened either by a sudden noise or from a nightmare. But usually if the noise was just a one time thing, he usually calmed down in the end. He most often fell asleep if she cradled him in her arms, like she did when she nursed him or if she held him up to her shoulder, rubbing his back, like she did when she burped him. Those were his two most relaxing positions, so it wasn't that surprising, really.

This time it was no different; about twenty minutes into it, she felt his jaw relaxing and suction stopping. It amazed her how it was possible for a baby to be a biter before he even had teeth. Thinking back she couldn't remember if Rory used to bite her or not. Maybe that was like women's memory of labor pains; with time you just forgot how painful it really was. Lifting her son up to her shoulder, she used her free hand to slightly rub the sore spot on her breast before yanking her bra back up and buttoning down her shirt. She rubbed William's back in circles, while getting up. William preferred it if she walked around with a little bounce in her steps while holding him up against her shoulder. It was then she noticed the flashing light on the answering machine.

Normally she would check her messages the minute she got into the house, but seeing as she'd just come from seeing Rory, she didn't expect any calls and therefore didn't pay much attention to the machine. Walking over to it, she pressed the 'play' button and continued circling the livingroom.

- _Hey_, she heard Luke's voice say on the machine. - _It's me. I'm sorry for calling so late, but I was wondering if you could come pick me up seeing as I'm a bit inebriated at the moment and probably shouldn't drive myself. I'm in Litchfield at The Blue Bar on West Street, you can't miss it. I know it's a lot to ask with William and all, so if this is inconvenient for you in any way, then just forget I called. I'll be alright. I can't see straight right now, but I'll be alright. I'll find a cab or a bus or something... in a while. For now I'll just sit here, with my beer... Yup, I made a rhyme. So... anyway, forget I called and go to bed. I'll be fine._

This was probably one of the times when she should listen to Luke's fleeting voice of reason that was apparent at the end of the message, but then again, when did she ever listen to reason. She carefully put William's snow suit back on, grabbed the bunny to calm him down in case he woke up during the trip. Although she doubted she'd be changing William on this little run, she still hoisted the baby bag up on her shoulder and only grabbed her jacket in her hand on her way out. It was a bit colder than she'd expected without the jacket on, but only fifteen steps out of the house she was already at the car, strapping William into his car seat, making sure he didn't wake up. The boy yawned and put his thumb into his mouth.

Litchfield wasn't really that long of a drive away, however, due to Lorelai's poor navigational skills, it took her twice as long to get to the bar as the general drive between the towns had taken. As she parked outside it she was presented with a dilemma. One was to just let William sleep in the car, while she went in to find Luke, the other was to bring the boy with her inside. With the many horror stories the media had presented her on kidnappings and other horrible events, it didn't matter how much of it was probably just propaganda, as a mother it was unthinkable to leave William on his own in the car, no matter how she'd only be a minute or two. So she decided on option two in the end, gently unstrapping her son from the car seat, resting him against her shoulder as she locked the car behind her.

Remaining undecided on whether or not she expected him to be there, she found him sitting up at the counter, nursing a bottle of beer that appeared to be half full at that moment. Not sure if he'd heard her come in or if something else alerted him, Lorelai saw Luke turn around, looking straight at her.

- Lorelai, he said, surprised. - Didn't I tell you _not_ to come?

- You should know me well enough by now to know I never listen, she lightly quipped.

- You shouldn't have come, Luke repeated.

- Yeah, well, she shrugged. - When someone leaves me a drunken rambling message on my machine, it doesn't matter how much he tells me to, I can't just ignore it.

Luke gave her a look in objection, but he didn't say anything.

- Come on, Lorelai told him, reaching out her hand for him. - Lets get you home while you can still walk.

- I'm not drunk, Luke insisted. - I do not get drunk.

- Whatever you say, Lorelai complied him.

- I had some beer... _beers_, more than one. A few.

Lorelai looked up at the bartender, who mouthed 'ten' to her.

- Well then, Arthur Guinness, she chuckled. - Why don't you come with me to the car?

Luke made no objections, though he stumbled a little bit just as he first got up. Luckily he didn't need that much support from her just yet and walked just fine out to the car. Lorelai opened the door to the passenger seat and first strapped William, who despite it all was still sleeping soundly, into his car seat before helping Luke in. Closing the door behind her, she went around the car and climbed into the driver's seat. That was when she spotted the remains of dried blood on the edge of Luke's hand.

- Luke, your hand is cut, she exclaimed.

Luke looked down and examined his hand more closely.

- Oh yeah, he chuckled.

- How did you cut your hand, Lorelai wondered.

- I broke a window, Luke informed her.

- A window, Lorelai asked, confused.

- Car window, Luke nodded.

- With your fist?

This made Luke erupt into laughter as he shook his head.

- With a rock, he clarified. - I clutched a rock and threw it. Smash, right into the window.

- Do you at least know whose car it was, Lorelai asked him.

- No idea, Luke shook his head. - I left a note with my number on it. I tried getting it through the crack I made and my hand got caught on the side. You know, glass is sharp.

- Yeah, I've heard that too, Lorelai nodded, not knowing what else to answer. - Luke, why did you break the window?

- Cause I was mad, Luke replied.

- You don't even know whose car it was, Lorelai pointed out.

- Car was just there, Luke shrugged. - You know when you're mad you just need to grab something, so you pick up a rock. You don't know why, but you do; and then when that don't help, you throw it. Or maybe you don't. I've only seen you yell when you're mad. Yelling is good, it cost less. You can't break a window with just yelling.

- Unless you yell at someone holding a window and he drops it, Lorelai quipped.

- Good point, Luke chuckled.

- Why do you wish you were yelling, Lorelai finally asked.

- You know when you're in a relationship and things change; you want out, you have feelings for someone else, whatever it is... You break it off with the person, right? I mean, that's the right thing to do. You end it, you cut the other person off. At least, that's what I thought. Apparently, Nicole doesn't think so or she just enjoys ramming her tongue down her clients' throats.

- Oh, wow, Lorelai sighed. - Luke, I'm so sorry. I can't even begin to imagine what you must be going through right now.

- I'm so stupid, Luke chuckled. - I mean, I come here, thinking I at least owe it to her to talk it over with her before bringing up the word 'divorce' and all this time she's been doing this behind my back. I'm a real idiot, aren't I?

- You're not an idiot, Lorelai insisted. - Nicole doing what she did says nothing about you.

- I don't know, Luke shrugged. - I just feel stupid about the whole thing.

- We all feel stupid more than once in our lives. That doesn't mean we are, Lorelai pointed out. - Now, lets get out of here and sober you up.

- I'm not drunk, Luke insisted again.

- Whether or not ten beers is above or below your limit is something we can argue back and forth about all night, Lorelai sighed. - But you're definitely not sober.

Luke seemed to accept this answer and Lorelai turned the ignition and pulled out of the parking space. Luke was quiet the whole drive back, mostly because he seemed to be drifting back and forth between sleeping and an awaken state. It wasn't until she reached Stars Hollow that Luke said anything.

- My place is back there, Luke reminded her, as she passed the diner, in the direction of her house.

- Like I'd leave you on your own in this state, she said, raising her brows, not stopping the car until it was parked underneath her trusty tree.

Letting Luke just sit for the moment, Lorelai gently unstrapped their son and picked him up. It never stopped amazing her how William didn't even seem to notice anymore if he was lying down or being picked up when he was sleeping. They boy just slept on, as if he'd been lying in a bed all along. When Lorelai had made it to the other side of her car, Luke had already unbuckled the seat belt and was fumbling with the car door. Once out of the car, Lorelai was relieved that he didn't need much in terms of support, although she could clearly see his loss of footing here and there.

She lead him into her house and locked the door behind her. At first, she thought about making up the couch for him, but the bags she'd left on it and the boxes that were surrounding it, plus her knowing how long it'd take her to make up the couch, it just didn't tempt her. Also, Luke looked as though he was going to pass out, hit the floor, and go to sleep there, so she doubted he'd be able to keep himself awake for much longer. So, she simply lead him up the stairs, putting William down in the crib for a moment, before turning to Luke. She made him take off his jacket and she helped him with his shoes. She let him keep his pants, but removed the belt. The cap was the last thing to go. Afterwards, she just covered him with a thin blanket as she assumed the cover would be a bit too warm for him. The whole time Luke had only made a couple of weak grunts in objections, but none of it was even close to resembling words.

Returning the focus to her son, Lorelai unzipped the snow suit and gently removed his regular clothes and replaced them with a thin pajamas before gently putting him down in his crib to sleep, tucking him in. She lingered over the crib for a moment, making sure he was still sleeping soundly, before heading for the bathroom to get ready for bed herself. She returned to her bedroom once more with a glass of water and two aspirin, which she left for Luke on her nightstand, knowing he'd probably have a terrible headache in the morning. Grabbing her own covers and the baby monitor, she made her way downstairs to take up residency in Rory's room for the night.

TBC


	72. Cinnamon and Coffee

AN: Ok, so I haven't watched this week's episode yet. Wanna know why? Cause I decided to write another chapter instead while I still had the energy. Man working on this project is draining me... lol. Also I made my first angsty Lorelai video "This is your life" (Switchfoot song), it's a character study set in season 7, minor Chris in it, but mostly Lorelai and some Luke. You will find it at youtube under my nick "smeagolkitten". As always, big thanks to Steph for the beta.

**Leire** - Nice prediction. That's all I'm gonna say :P

**Alexia** - Yeah, I know what you mean. Denying you're drunk is the ultimate proof that you are in fact drunk.

**Severien** - I have no idea how I managed to stay this dedicated. It's definitely a first for me. I mean, I've been dedicated before, but not like this. Definitely not like this. I guess you have a point on the LC split, but I hate Chris so much I just can't stand that he got away with so much in the past and he just keeps getting away with everything. But the one good thing is that LC will NEVER happen again.

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - I know what you mean about skipping fics. I've done that a couple of times and while sometimes I've been right not to read it, other times I've been amazed that I skipped the fic so many times before reading it. I don't understand how someone could cheat on Luke, either. As for determining what Lorelai did, I'd just rather not. I find myself understanding Lorelai more and more now. I still don't understand why she keeps letting Chris in to hurt her and Rory and not confronting him about it, but that's in my opinion her biggest flaw. If she can come to terms with her own faults in the break-up and not blame it all on Luke, then I will give her another chance.

**cywen69** - I read that fic you mentioned, too. It was very well done, but with the way I write Luke, it made much more sense not to have him hit on Lorelai in his drunken state. Not that he got much time before he conked out, but still... lol I agree with you on the jail thing. I mean it was a fun thing, but a bar would've made more sense.

**smileyGGfan** - Glad to hear people like my Babette. I heard her voice in my head as I wrote her. I always manage to hear Babette speak when I read her dialogue... lol I agree with you on the baby-thing. I want baby Danes much more than I want the LL wedding. Cause the wedding can be any time. The longer they wait to have kids, the bigger the risks will be. And as I told you, I saw the vid, but I keep far away from LC vids. I don't even enjoy Neshbe vids that much. lol

* * *

Luke was a bit groggy when he first woke up. His head was pounding and he generally didn't feel too well. Luke was by no means a lightweight when it came to alcohol, but he wasn't really one to get drunk either. Now, that he was sobering up, he could admit that he had in fact been drunk the night before. At least this time he didn't have any gaping holes in his memory, but then again it was much harder drinking yourself to a blackout with just beer. Luckily it usually didn't take him more than a couple of hours to recover from even the worst hangover. All he needed was a couple of aspirin, water, and enough time for the drug to start working and he was almost as good as new.

Opening his eyes he stared a bit confused into the air. He'd been in Lorelai's bedroom enough times up through the years, fixing various broken items and once assembling a crib for her to recognize it. He did remember Lorelai insisting on bringing him here after picking him up from the bar instead of his apartment. He also remembered her ushering him up the stairs. However he must've fallen asleep the minute his head hit the pillow, because he didn't remember removing his jacket or his shoes. Sitting up, he also noticed his belt had been removed and that she'd covered him up with a blanket, but that was about it. Looking around the room, he quickly realized that Lorelai was nowhere to be seen. Seeing the silhouette of the baby in the crib and seeing the numbers on the alarm clock on the night stand, Luke quickly concluded that it was just too early for Lorelai to be up and about, especially with William still sleeping.

The nightstand also carried a most welcome sight of a tall glass of water and aspirin. Apparently Lorelai had thought about everything before taking the baby monitor with her to wherever she spent the night. Deciding against making an assessment on Lorelai's whereabouts, Luke threw his head back and downed the aspirin and about half the content of the water glass before catching a breath and finishing the rest.

He laid back down on the bed, waiting for the drug to take effect and thought about the previous day and all its events. It surprised him how when thinking about what he had seen, he didn't really feel that angry anymore. It was like he'd stopped caring. Sure, it still stung somewhat that the woman he'd been seeing for so long obviously thought so little of him, but the immediate anger he'd felt upon witnessing the ultimate proof of her infidelity had just faded into this little twinge. He rubbed the edge of his hand, where he'd cut himself on the glass from the car window. Just the fact that he'd acted so rash in the heat of the moment and ended up committing vandalism, it really just made him feel ashamed of himself. But hopefully the owner would find his note and call, so he could settle things with whoever it was and just move on from the whole ordeal.

In the corner of his eye, Luke spotted some movement from the crib. When he reached it and peered down, he saw that William was in fact awake and alert. He wasn't sure why, but he halfway expected William to cry when he saw someone besides his mother looking down on him, but that simply wasn't the case. Quite the contrary, when the boy saw Luke's face hovering over his crib, he broke into a big smile and threw his hands around and kicked in excitement. Although Luke hadn't really considered himself that much a part of William's life, despite seeing him and having something or the other to do with him pretty much every day, William obviously thought otherwise. Maybe there was some truth to what Liz had said that night by the bonfire; that he was playing dad for the boy.

If William wasn't hungry yet, he definitely would be soon, so Luke bent down and picked the baby up, cradling him against his shoulder as he made it out the door and down the stairs. Assuming Lorelai was still asleep somewhere, Luke wasn't surprised when he found the livingroom empty and dark, the dusk barely helping him make out the edges of the furniture and several cardboard boxes stacked up around the couch. He made a mental note to look into this later.

Not having seen his shoes or jacket anywhere upstairs, he peaked out into the mini-hallway leading to the front door and there, neatly stacked between a couple of her coats and William's blue snowsuit was his trusty green winter jacket, that had been with him since sometime before his father died. Luke chuckled at the thought of that jacket. With the knowledge that it wouldn't hold out forever, Luke had bought a new one a couple of years back. But while the new one had fallen apart after two years of light use, the zipper breaking, a couple of rifts in the fabric from God knows where, the old one still remained intact. They simply didn't make them like they used to anymore.

He found the kitchen as empty as the rest of the house, which only left one place for Lorelai to be; Rory's room. Which made sense, seeing as it was the only other room containing a bed to sleep in. He turned on the light switch and the room was suddenly bathed in a little too bright light for Luke's taste as he felt his head beginning to pound. William didn't seem to appreciate the sudden change in lighting, either and gently fussed against Luke's shoulder.

While gently comforting the baby, Luke opened the fridge and saw a couple of small portion sized cartons of nan milk. Apparently Lorelai preferred those over the powdered ones she had to mix with water. This didn't surprise him one bit, as this was the woman who preferred ordering in instead of cooking or assembling herself a sandwich. The less work the food required, the better. But he had to admit they sometimes came in handy as searching Lorelai's kitchen for a measuring cup wasn't very high on his list over things he'd like to do while hung over. Once the bottle was prepared, Luke retreated to the livingroom, where he decided against turning on the light as today his head and light didn't see eye to eye. Maneuvering himself around the boxes, he took a seat on the couch. Although William's fussing had decreased once they stepped into the darker room, it didn't die down until he was happily drinking from the bottle.

It wasn't until he came back down after changing William's diaper, noticing the morning light illuminating the livingroom, that he realized the time and the fact that he was supposed to have opened the diner by now. Obviously he couldn't very well leave William behind to go to the diner and thinking about how this was probably the only time Lorelai's slept in since William was born, seeing as even the time he had taken the boy for the night she still managed to show up before 8 am, the thought of waking her up was simply out of the question. This left only one option. Feeling he probably should consider offering the man a raise to make up for all the times he had been asked to show up early or stay behind late on short notice, Luke decided to call Ceasar.

William objected slightly to being put down under the baby gym, but once he got a hold of one of the items hovering above his head and put it in his mouth, it was all forgotten. Dialing the familiar number, Luke was grateful to know that Ceasar was a morning bird, just like him. Thereby he didn't have to worry about waking him. However, when no one picked up after eight rings, it was obvious that no one was home. Before giving up entirely, Luke decided to try the man's cell phone. This time it was answered after three rings.

- Hello, Ceasar answered.

- Hi, it's Luke, Luke said. - I know this is very last minute, but something's come up and I was hoping you could come in a bit earlier today and open the diner for me.

- I already did, boss, the man replied.

- You did, Luke asked, confused as hell. - Did I ask you to?

- No, Ceasar replied. - Lorelai called last night.

This only helped confuse Luke even more, as he couldn't for the life of him figure out where Lorelai might've gotten Ceasar's number from.

- Or actually, she called Lane, Ceasar elaborated, as though he had read his thoughts. - And then Lane called me. Anyway, it's all been taken care of, boss. No problem.

- Oh, Luke muttered.

Suddenly it just made sense. Of course, with how out of it he was the night before, it made perfect sense that Lorelai would think ahead like that. Not just with the water glass and aspirin on the nightstand, which he appreciated immensely, but also making sure someone covered work for him.

- But I was hoping, Ceasar continued. - That you wouldn't mind me taking Friday off. My sister called out of the blue last night and said she was coming to visit this weekend.

- Sure, no problem, Luke nodded. - Do you need any help with the breakfast rush?

- Got it all under control, boss, Ceasar told him.

- Ok, I'll try to be there before the lunch rush starts.

- Ok, good.

Luke barely had time to put the phone down, before he heard a dissatisfied sound from William, who during that very brief phone call had rolled over onto his stomach and now seemed pretty stuck in his position. He lifted his head for about fifteen seconds to look around, then dropped it down, the whole time waving his tiny arms and feet around, trying to undo whatever he did to get into this position in the first place. When the boy realized it wasn't gonna work, he began to cry. This was Luke's cue to help roll the boy back onto his back. Once this was done, William stopped crying.

The little boy stared up at him with wide eyes, as if to ask him; _what on earth is going on_? Then just two minutes later, to Luke's amusement, he had rolled onto his stomach again. It didn't seem like William objected to lying on his stomach, but more objected to his inability to roll back to his original position, so Luke let the boy himself decide when it was time to roll him back. Little by little this turned more and more into a game and William squealed with delight each time Luke rolled him back onto his back, only to roll onto his stomach ten seconds later.

Luke was in the middle of giving William his second bottle for the day, when he heard movement coming from the kitchen. Just a minute later, Lorelai emerged from the kitchen wearing a light blue pajamas with little pink people, hearts and cupcakes all over, which Luke, despite never having spent a night at Lorelai's house before, could've sworn he'd seen before. He just couldn't figure out when or even where. Her hair was mussed up and she still looked sleepy. It was the most serene he'd seen her, unless you counted the few times he'd seen her sleep.

- Morning, she murmured, when she saw him.

- Morning, he replied.

- Been up for long?

- A couple of hours, Luke shrugged. - This is his second bottle.

- I'm sorry, Lorelai sighed. - I didn't think I would sleep in this long. I thought I'd hear him when he got hungry, like I usually do. I guess I was more tired than I originally thought I was.

- Don't be sorry, Luke told her. - You're the mother of a four month old. You're allowed to sleep in at least once in a while.

- Not when I have a hung over house guest, I don't, she insisted.

- I'm not that hung over, Luke shrugged.

Lorelai didn't say anything, just simply snorted and raised her brows at that statement.

- Ok, so I am, Luke admited. - I'm an adult. I can admit that I was drunk out of my mind, yesterday, but I'm fine now. The water and the pills did wonders.

Truth be told, the aspirin had taken care of the worst of his headache, but not completely. He hadn't realized until now that his head was still hurting a little bit. It was like he had just forgotten all about it while having to take care of William. As if he knew Luke was thinking about him, William squirmed slightly in his arms and grabbed a hold of his sleeve, his eyelids drooping as he slowly continued to drink. Lorelai seemed to have forgotten their conversation topic and just sat and watched as Luke fed her son.

- You're really good at that, she told him.

- It's just holding a bottle, Luke pointed out, dryly. - Not that much to it.

- I meant, you're good with him, Lorelai corrected him, rolling her eyes.

- Yeah, I guess, Luke shrugged. - He's easy to be around.

- Even when he screams bloody murder, Lorelai teased.

- Even then, Luke nodded. - At least I know what to do to shut him up... unlike some people.

- Why Mr Danes, Lorelai said, feigning ignorance. - I have no idea what you may be insinuating.

- I'm sure you don't, Luke deadpanned.

- Hey, do you think that car owner found your note yet, Lorelai suddenly asked.

Luke jumped slightly. He'd forgotten how much he'd told her in his drunken daze, but as she mentioned it, he realized he had talked about pretty much everything. Wondering what made her think of it, he turned and looked at her. Following her gaze, he noticed she was looking at the wound on his hand. He studied it himself. He wasn't sure how deep the glass had gone, all he remembered was that it had hurt like hell and that he had a large bloodstain on the inside of the sleeve of his flannel, as he had used it to stop the bleeding. Now, all that was left on his right hand was a rough crust.

- I don't know, he answered truthfully. - I just hope he will, so I can put this whole thing behind me.

- I can imagine, Lorelai nodded. - How are you holding up? I mean, you were kinda out of it yesterday and well... if you don't wanna talk about it, then we won't talk. I just wanted you to know that you can... if you need to.

- I'm okay, he shrugged. - I mean, I went to Litchfield to talk to Nicole about divorce, I should just be glad she wanted out as well, right?

- Luke, Lorelai sighed.

- Why should I care _how_ she chose to end it? The end result is pretty much the same; I'm out, she's out. I should be happy about that. Instead I'm getting drunk, I'm breaking car windows. I call my best friend, who has no choice other than to bring her four month old son with her, to come and get me.

- She cheated on you, Luke, Lorelai pointed out. - You're allowed to be upset about that.

Luke shrugged.

- You were together for a year, she continued. - It's bound to feel a bit anticlimactic.

- Right now I have trouble figuring out why we even began dating in the first place.

- I guess that makes sense, Lorelai shrugged.

- She's a lawyer for Pete's sake, Luke pointed out. - I mean, you of all people know how much I hate lawyers. So, what was I thinking?

- Hey, Lorelai shrugged. - Sometimes I pretend to be outdoorsy. We all make our sacrifices.

Luke chuckled slightly as he thought back to the time he'd caught Lorelai in the diner with books upon books on fishing. At first he'd thought she'd had a stroke, as she had never before showed any interest in any of the sort. It had made much more sense once he'd lured out the real reason her sudden change of heart. He looked up and saw that she was smiling. Lorelai was the only adult he knew that still smiled the way a child did; with her whole face. Luke really loved her smile.

- Yeah, I guess, he chuckled. - Plus, our whole relationship felt like one big compromise after another. And on top of it all she was the complete opposite of...

He stopped himself from completing what he intended to say. The word '_you_' laid there on the very tip of his tongue. He swallowed hard and met her gaze. Staring into her deep blue orbs, he felt it all come back. Every time he'd heard the bell above the diner door ring in that special way, which announced exactly who had just come in without him having to look up to confirm it. All the times he'd argue about her insistence to poison her body with caffeine and junk food, demanding she'd include something that could in some form qualify as healthy, knowing very well he would be giving in to her in the end. He thought about all the times when they had both been single where he'd been trying to work up the courage to take that leap and ask her out, each time chickening out at the last minute and watching someone else grab the opportunity.

The worst had been those months after Rachel had left and Lorelai had gotten engaged. Outwardly he felt he'd done a good job in projecting happiness on her behalf, while inwardly he'd felt like he was dying. He'd even forced himself to come out and join the engagement celebration in the square, which he had originally planned on avoiding. But she'd asked him to come out, because she'd wanted to share her happiness with him, so he came out and sat down on one of the benches. He still remembered how her face had it up when she saw him and that made the pain a little bit more bearable, knowing he was contributing to her happiness. He'd almost felt guilty over the enormous relief he'd felt when Sookie had told him that Lorelai had broken the engagement, but he couldn't help himself. Even though he didn't believe in fate, at that moment he'd felt like he'd been given a second chance.

Lorelai stared at him in confusion.

- Of what, she asked him, not tearing her eyes from his.

Luke recognized this moment. They'd had their share of them before. Moments, where he'd been seconds away from kissing her, only something had always interupted them at the last minute, before the kiss happened. Luke had let those moments pass before, only to see her once again slip through his fingers and frankly he was tired of not taking the chance. He was tired of wondering what could've been if he'd moved a little bit quicker. He was tired of 'what if' scenarios. He wanted to for once know that at least he gave it his best attempt. And as he thought it, he felt himself lean in. And he wasn't sure if he was imagining it or not, but it did seem like she was leaning in, too.

Of course that was the moment William swallowed wrongly and began coughing. Both Luke and Lorelai tore their gaze from each other. Another moment completely lost. Luke reacted instinctively and gently lifted the boy up to his shoulders, gently rubbing his back. Just seconds later he felt a warm sensation against his shoulder as William had proceeded to throw up most of the content of the bottle. Lorelai quickly ran upstairs to get a fresh towel for him, while Luke gently comforted the crying baby. When Lorelai emerged down the stairs, Luke had calmed the boy down a little bit. She accepted the baby from him and gently cradled him against her shoulder, whispering comforting words to her son, while Luke dried his shirt.

When William settled against her shoulders and silence once more took over the room, the crisis averted, Luke couldn't help but feel that if he let this moment go, someone else would take his place and he would lose her all over again. So when Lorelai once more turned to look at him, question marks in her eyes, he wasted no time in closing the little space between them and pressing his lips against hers. For the first couple of seconds it was just him kissing her, but as he parted from her, he felt her hand on the side of his cheek, urging him to lean in again. This time the kiss was reciprocated. He ran his tongue along her bottom lip and she granted him access. He chuckled inwardly as he could swear she tasted faintly like coffee, despite knowing very well she hadn't had a single cup yet. Coffee and cinnamon for some reason. If this kiss ended up being all he got, then he would always remember the way she tasted of coffee and cinnamon.

When they finally parted, they were breathing heavily, both trying to grasp what had just happened between them. Luke just couldn't believe that he'd finally done it. He had kissed Lorelai Gilmore. All those times he had stared at her, imagining what it would be like and he finally knew. He knew that kissing her made it feel like the rest of the world didn't exist. That the only two people were him and her. There was no one else, no complications, no responsibilities. For a moment there was no impending divorce, there wasn't even a Nicole.

But as his breathing began to stabilize again, the real world came crawling back. Luke remembered another kiss, the one he had witnessed the night before and as it came back to him, he realized as much as it was over in his mind, he didn't want to _be_ Nicole in this.

- I'm sorry, he muttered, as he got up from the couch. - I should... you know, go help Ceasar with the lunch rush.

It wasn't the best excuse, but he just couldn't think of anything else and before he knew it, he was standing outside her front door.

TBC


	73. Girl Talk

AN: Okay, so I saw the new episode and I gotta say I loved it, it's my second favorite episode this season. Babette and Miss Patty's code language was hilarious and is my second favorite scene in the ep. My favorite is the Lorelai/Emily moment where Emily placed her hand on Lorelai's shoulder and told her daughter that she was proud of her, that it wasn't really a bad thing that she was getting a divorce and simply comforting her. I've been longing for such a moment for so long. And I do like that Luke seem to have forgiven Lorelai for what happened. I want Lorelai to own up to her own blame in the break-up an deal with it, but I do like that Luke has dealt with it and is willing to forgive and forget. That strikes me with hope for what's coming.

AN2: I have a new vid up, which you can find on youtube under the nickname "smeagolkitten". It's called "Everyone needs a friend" and is an LL friendship to relationship vid. And as usual a great big thanks to Steph for the beta.

**smileyGGfan** - Good memory on the PJ's. I was wondering if anyone was gonna pick up on that one. Sadly it doesn't seem like anyone picked up on the cinnamon. And oy on the missunderstanding here. Luke was _not_ standing outside Nicole's apartment in the end there. Also, some bad wording, what I meant on the vid was that I saw that you had a vid up, not that I had seen it. Now I have, however and I beg of you, please stick to LL for my sanity's sake.

**pishymeow** - I've seen that scenario so many times with my nieces and my cousin's kids and it's just forever burned into my memory. It saddens me that I'm so far away from them most of the year. My youngest niece is very sceptic towards me cause I only see her three times a year. The older one knows me, so I get into her good grace so much easier. I think writing William is kinda me reliving the things that I'm now missing.

**cywen69** - No, there will be no memory jarring. With how I myself have trouble remembering a lot of things that happened as late as high school (I'm in college now), having Luke suddenly remembering events from a blackout would feel highly unnatural for me to write.

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - It makes me smile that the events had the impact on readers as I had intended them to have. Makes me feel like I hit the bull's eye. As for the sexual tension... do I have to remind you that Lorelai had their son in her arms at the time of the kiss? Also it was about emotion, not lust, though lust will play its part later on ;)

**lynndaly** - I said very early that it would be a minimum of 100 chapters, but I can tell you already now that there will be much more than that. I wonder if I might set a chapter record or something before I'm through... lol

* * *

It was ten after eleven when Rory could finally begin packing away her books. It wasn't the fact that the class had gone on overtime, as she, despite the awkwardness of the situation, really loved Contemporary Political Fiction. So, she couldn't yet, even after six weeks of his teachings, look Asher Flemming in the eye, knowing very well what he did once his working day was over... or rather whom. Not that she had any desire to know, but once Paris started talking there was no stop. Usually this meant taking refuge at Jess' apartment whenever she wasn't in class or working, but too much of the cramped space over a longer period of time wasn't good for anyone and was probably the big contributor to why their disagreement over Jess' sudden change of heart about going to Stars Hollow with her had grown so out of proportion. They were good now, however, after both of them had swallowed their pride and reluctantly apologized to the other. And now Rory finally got the concept of make-up sex.

The reason she had found herself impatient towards the end of the class was that she just had one of those days where she'd remembered to turn off the sound of her cell phone, however she had completely forgotten to turn off the vibrate as well and already five minutes before the class was supposed to end, her phone had begun vibrating and had seemingly continued to do so for the better part of the following fifteen minutes. It had made it completely impossible to listen to whatever Professor Flemming had been saying and made the remaining time she sat in that classroom pretty pointless.

Rory hurried to her dorm intending to dump her heavy book bag before taking a quick trip to the coffee cart for a caffeine fix. However the coffee would have to wait as the phone vibrated again the minute Rory entered her and Paris' bedroom. Dumping the books on her desk, she sat down on the bed and flipped the phone open.

- Hello, she answered.

- _He kissed me_, came the reply.

The voice was so frantic and high pitched that for a moment Rory didn't recognize it and had to check the caller id to see if someone maybe had the wrong number. Seeing her home number flashing on the display, Rory felt a different wave of confusion hit her. Hadn't she seen her mother just yesterday?

- Who did, Rory finally asked.

- _Luke_, Lorelai told her.

- Um... in the diner, Rory asked, dumbfounded, not knowing what was the proper response to finding out one's coffee provider had just kissed one's mother.

- _At the house_, Lorelai clarified.

- What was Luke doing at our house, Rory wanted to know.

- _I'm sorry_, Lorelai said, surprised. - _I just got kissed by the man I'm in love with and_ that's _what you ask about?_

- Well, I'm feeling like I'm getting the last five minutes of a really confusing movie, here, Rory pointed out. - Forgive me for wanting a little bit of information.

- _Okay_, Lorelai sighed. - _Luke spent the night here._

- You mean, spent the night as in _'spent the night'_ spent the night?

- _Spent the night as in he passed out drunk in my bed and I slept in your room_, Lorelai replied. - _And thanks a lot!_

- Well, how should I know what pace you guys move at, Rory shrugged. - And you still have to explain what he was doing in your bed in the first place.

- _Well, I took him there._

- For a woman who doesn't want me to make any insinuations, you're sure giving me a lot of material, Rory pointed out.

- _Last night after you went back to Yale, Luke called me from a bar... well he called and left a message on my machine. So I went there to pick him up and he was kinda out of it, so I brought him home. The couch was surrounded with boxes of all the stuff mom bought for William that I hadn't yet had time to put away and Luke was about to fall asleep right there, so I took him upstairs to sleep it off._

- Okay, sounds innocent enough, Rory nodded, approvingly. - But where does the kiss fit in? And why was he drunk?

- _He caught Nicole cheating on him_, Lorelai explained.

- Oh no, Rory sighed. - Did he walk in on her...?

- _No_, Lorelai quickly dismissed. - _He saw her making out with some guy. I didn't get many details out of him._

- Poor Luke, Rory muttered. - How's he holding up?

- _He's pretty upset. Not that I blame him. I can't think of any guy in this world who deserves this less than Luke_, Lorelai sighed, pausing for a moment. - _Hey... you don't think he might've been just getting back at Nicole, do you?_

- With what?

- _Kissing me_, Lorelai answered. - _Do you think that was just him getting even?_

- _Mom_, Rory exclaimed. - You of all people should know that Luke would never do something that low.

- _I know that. I just... I dunno. I'm just really confused right now. I don't know what to think anymore._

- What is it that confuses you, Rory asked. - Tell me a little about it, give me details, though feel free to edit out anything too graphic for my very delicate ears. Start with when it happened and go from there.

- _Well, when I got up this morning, I found Luke in the livingroom giving William a bottle. And we just began to talk about stuff... William, last night... and then we had this moment where I could almost feel him leaning in, as if he was gonna kiss me, but then he didn't._

- Okay, now _I'm_ confused.

- _Because William started to cry_, Lorelai clarified. - _So we got a bit preoccupied with that and I had almost forgotten about the whole leaning in moment when suddenly... Luke just pulled me close and well... kissed me._

- Okay, Rory sighed. - So what kind of kiss are we talking here? A peck or are we talking full on steamy.

- _Definitely more than a peck, but I wouldn't say full-fledged steamy_, Lorelai evaluated. - _I had a baby in my arms, after all. I'd say someplace in between. Like a tender, kind of exploring type kiss. Definitely a date-scenario kinda kiss._

- I'm kinda having problems seeing the big dilemma here. From my point of view it seems pretty obvious.

- _Yes_, Lorelai sighed. - _And if it had stayed that way, I wouldn't've gotten so confused about it._

- Mom, what happened?

- _I don't know. He suddenly got really weird, muttered something about having to get to the diner and then he just walked out. And now I just don't know what to think. I mean, does he regret it? Was he just getting even with Nicole? I mean, what would make a man kiss a woman and then suddenly just walk out the door?_

- Maybe he was confused, Rory suggested. - It was after all very spur of the moment. And you guys have been friends for so long, he might be a little afraid of jeopardizing that. Or he could just be feeling guilty.

- _About what_, Lorelai asked, confused.

- Kissing you, while still being married to Nicole, Rory pointed out.

- _Why should he be? It's not like Nicole is going to care. And lets not forget who decided to play tonsil hockey first._

- I'm not saying he should feel guilty, I'm just pointing out that that's what he might be feeling right now, Rory shrugged. - But, you're not gonna get anywhere with playing 'what if' with me. You should just go to the diner and ask him yourself.

- _Are you kidding me? I can't go to the diner._

- Why not?

- _Because Luke kissed me._

- Boy, you're a lot of work today.

A sudden slamming of the door, startled her, almost making her drop the phone. This was followed by the two very loud voices of her suitemates. Rory couldn't make out what was being said, but it sounded vicious.

- _Geez, what was that_, Lorelai asked.

- From the sound of it Paris and Janet are at it again, Rory sighed. - I might have to get out there and play peace maker before someone gets hurt. We'll talk later.

- _But_, Lorelai objected. - _We didn't even get to go over our day planners to schedule valuable mother and daughter time. When are we gonna get to see each other?_

- I'm sorry, but I have to take a raincheck. The last time they were this loud Paris ended up biting Janet, Rory explained. - Gotta love the maturity level we have at this university. Listen, I'll be in class until four, but after that I'm all yours. We can resume our conversation then.

As she said it an alarming outburst came from the other side of the door.

- Okay, mom, Rory continued. - It looks like it's gonna get really ugly here. We'll talk later. Bye.

Hanging up, Rory took a deep breath before getting up from the bed, ready to play peace maker. She now really wished she'd gotten that coffee.

TBC


	74. A minor setback

AN: Just so people know, I will _not_ be enunciating Michel's French accent, like so many others seems to do. I find it utterly ridiculous to write things like: "Zat ees very important", I mean, who understands that kinda writing? We all know Michel is French and we know what he sounds like when he speaks, it's not necessary to write this gibberish when all you need to do when reading Michel's lines is to imagine it being said with a French accent.

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - I just think it's too bad that we didn't get to see more of affectionate Emily. It was just hurtful to see her suddenly be distant to her daughter again. I mean, we all know how desperately she wants a relationship with her, so why go all hot and cold on her?

**spinningcreation** - Loving the enthusiasm :)

**Severien** - Aww, you sat by a tropical swimmingpool and this was what you thought of? I'm speechless.

**cywen69** - I gotta disagree with you there. Lorelai _would've_ talked to Rory about it in the show and it was obvious to me that she planned to, but then she discovered Rory and Dean and got a bit distracted. The only reasons she talked to Sookie about it first was 1) Sookie found out on her own and confronted her and 2) Her and Rory just had a fight and like I said; she was distracted. It will most likely be dirty eventually, but I will be putting the dirty scenes in an own series, so that those of my readers who don't want to read the dirty don't have to ;)

**smileyGGfan** - My favorite episode of season 7 is "Santa's Secret Stuff", because it was the first episode that felt like my show was coming back to its senses. And about the cinnamon. A cinnamon bun? Seriously? How would I be expecting my readers to get the cinnamon thing if it came from a cinnamon bun? Take another peak at the teaser in 5x12 and you should get it. Thank you ever so much for promising to stick to LL vids in the future... lol And thanks for the comment on my vid :)

* * *

Despite the confusion over the past week and the fact that she still hadn't talked to Luke, going into the diner and chattered away about nothing; yes, but actually talked; no, Lorelai found herself in a rather good mood when she entered the construction site which would soon enough carry the name Dragonfly. William was firmly resting against her shoulder, which albeit was tiring for her arms, seeing as he was a growing baby, was the easiest way of transporting him. The only times he was content with lying in his stroller was when he was asleep or about to. Normally a swing would be the ideal thing for a working mom to use, but with the noise from the construction going on, the baby craved bigger comfort than the swing could offer. Safe to say, Lorelai did her best to minimize the time she spent at the site. However, the day before Tom had called her and asked if he could have a meeting, not only with her, but Sookie as well. And seeing as Michel always kept nagging them to be included in the process, Lorelai had insisted that he too came to this meeting, whatever it was.

She glanced around the room. Like any other construction site, it looked like one big mess, but nowhere as bad as it had when they had just finished demolishing the place. It amazed her how back then, when looking around; she had begun questioning her own sanity, as well as Sookie's when they had decided to make such a leap, as she just couldn't imagine the place to ever look good again. Now, four months later, the place made her think of back when Rory had been ten and the two of them had gone house hunting. Every place they went to was completely bare and thereby looked both bigger and smaller than it really was at the same time. Bigger because the rooms lacked furniture to take up space, but smaller because without furniture it lacked the homely feel that prevented her from feeling the walls were going to close in around them. Of course every place they saw outranked the potting shed they had made their home for so many years.

It would've been cliché, not to mention a lie, to say they chose the first house they laid their eyes on. No, the Crap Shack was in fact the third house they'd seen. Third time's the charm; a whole other cliché, or more like a fairy tale; Goldilocks and the three houses. The first one they'd seen had been way too big, not to mention a bit out of their price range. The second place, though affordable, had been located a bit too far from both the inn and Rory's school; plus despite the girls lack of interest in gardening, the lack of natural surroundings had made the place feel a tad unwelcome. The Crap Shack, despite the chipped paint upon first sight, had turned out to be just what they had been looking for. Once inside Rory had immediately let go of Lorelai's hand to go search for her room, which she found almost immediately. In the meantime Lorelai had followed the realtor upstairs to look at what would become her bedroom, should they decide to take it. When she'd returned downstairs and found Rory, the girl had already begun planning on where to put her bed and bookshelves. That had been the element to close the deal for her; her daughter's enthusiasm for the place.

Lorelai smiled when she thought of the first days in the new house. They'd had almost nothing in terms of furniture to move from their old home, so most of the inventory had been newly acquired. As the new items began filling the house up, it went from feeling naked, to feeling like a home. Looking around at the construction site, Lorelai couldn't wait to do the same with this place; put in desks, end tables, picture frames, a couple of comfy recliners for the guests to just sit down, relax and read in. She looked towards what would become the dining area, imagining the waiters that would run in and out the doors of the kitchen, carrying dish after dish of Sookie's cooking. As though she'd known what Lorelai thought about just then, the bubbly chef came out the kitchen.

- Let me guess, Lorelai said, upon spotting her friend. - You were admiring the sink again, weren't you?

- Well, it is a really nice sink, Sookie pointed out, whilst looking around. - You seen Michel yet?

- Not yet, Lorelai shook her head. - But he said he'd come, so I'm guessing he'll be here any minute.

- Ok, Sookie nodded. - Did Tom say _anything_ about what he wanted to talk to us about?

- Not a thing, Lorelai dismissed.

- Did the checks clear? We did pay him right, Sookie asked, slightly uneasy. - Right?

- Yes, Sookie, Lorelai assured her. - We paid him. That was the first thing I asked him. He said the checks had all come through and the crew was paid last week.

- Oh, ok, Sookie sighed with relief. - That's good.

- Okay, I am here, Michel announced, as he entered the Dragonfly. - Now, what is this about? And can we please hurry it? The Westminster dog show starts in an hour and I'd like to be home to see the Chows.

- Why don't you just tape it, Lorelai asked, confused.

- Because the timer on my VCR is broken and I haven't had time to get a new one, Michel explained.

- Timer, Lorelai asked, looking questioningly at Sookie, who shrugged.

- VCR, Michel corrected, annoyed. - And stop stalling. You're making me miss the Chows.

- You know, Lorelai pointed out. - If this meeting was such an inconvenience for you, you didn't have to come.

- You called me and asked me to come to this meeting, did you not?

- Yeah, I did, Lorelai confirmed. - Because you've been nagging us for weeks about how you don't feel included, so I'm including you. All I'm asking is that either you drop this 'tude or you don't come at all.

- Well, I am here now. So let's get this thing over with.

- Oh, great, you're all here, Tom said, as he came down the stairs.

- Just as you requested, Lorelai quipped, appearing cheerful, while inwardly just worrying about what was gonna come next. - So what's up?

- It's a bit crowded in here, would you mind if we took this outside or will that be too cold for him, Tom asked, gesturing towards William, who despite the hustle around him had fallen asleep against Lorelai's shoulder.

- No, no, Lorelai assured him. - Outside is good.

The two proprietors and the future manager followed Tom out the door, each of them sending questioning glances over at the others. Well outside the door, Tom stopped and scratched his head.

- Tom, Lorelai said, nervously. - Is everything okay?

- Well, the contractor sighed. - I don't know how to tell you guys this...

- The checks _did_ clear, right, Sookie asked, interrupting him. - We're not behind on them again, are we?

- No, I mean yeah, the checks all cleared, the crew's been paid, it's nothing like that, Tom assured them, then pausing, squirming uncomfortably.

- I am missing the Chows 'cause of this, Michel muttered.

- _Michel_, Lorelai hissed, before turning her focus back to Tom. - Tom, what's the problem.

- We have to extend the deadline, the contractor finally said.

The three co-workers looked around at each other in dibelief.

- What, Sookie asked.

- Tom, _no_, Lorelai said, mere seconds later. - We can't not be finished on time. We have reservations booked and there are already ads out, all of them stating that we open on May 6th. We have to open then.

- This isn't happening, Sookie exclaimed, panicking.

- I'm sorry, you guys, Tom said, sincerely. - But there's little I can do about it.

- What happened, Lorelai asked.

- One of the carrying walls over at the stables gave in, Tom explained. - It doesn't show on the outside, but inside it's a real mess. I'd take you to see it, but with the kid and all I wouldn't risk it. We knew the wall was weak, but thought we had enough time to fix it before it became a real threat; but then when we ordered the supplies it all had to be backordered. So they told us it would be a few weeks. Now, we called them yesterday and they said it would be here next week, but we had to order some more material and they said it'll be a few weeks before we get that.

- Well, that's suppliers for you, Lorelai sighed.

- Tell me about it, Tom said, rolling his eyes. - Now, we don't know what caused the wall to give so early, it might even be because of one or two of my guys. If it is, you won't have to worry about the extra cost. But rebuilding the wall and the loft that collapsed in is a lot more work than securing a wall, and all my guys have tasks to finish around the house, so I can't put anyone extra on the stables without postponing some work at the main building and with the stuff on backorder we won't get started on that until late. Now the main building should be done on time, but with the stables we're really pushing it.

- But do we really have to extend the deadline, Lorelai asked. - Isn't there anything you could do?

- I'm gonna introduce you to a friend of mine, Tom said, walking over to one of the fold out tables the crew used to have their lunch on.

He tore a sheet from the back of his list pad and took out a pen from his chest pocket, drawing up what appeared to be a triangle.

- This is called a trade-off matrix, he explained. - Whenever you build something, you have three ground pillars; time, money and the quality of the product. You can have two of them, but not all three.

He named each corner of the triangle, then drew a line between 'time' and 'quality'.

- When we started out you guys picked these two, he continued. - Normally this goes very well, but every once in a while, something completely unforseen messes things up and we'll have to prioritize between the two we picked. Now if you had deep pockets, this wouldn't've been a problem. I could hire some extra guys or ask some of my crew to work overtime, but that's really expensive and I already know you guys are pretty strapped for cash as it is. And to tell you the truth, I don't think putting in this much extra money is worth it. I like you guys. I don't wanna take more money from you than I have to.

- You're a good man, Tom, Lorelai smiled.

- So I've heard, the contractor replied. - Now, we could go with sticking by the deadline and eliminate some of the stuff we're having done around the inn, or we could drop the stabled altogether. That would do it. But I know how important everything is for you guys, so I'm guessing that's not what you'll go for. However, if that's what you want, we'll make a list and work it out. Or we could go for sticking by the quality and extend the deadline for a couple of weeks just to make sure we get it all done on time. We _can_ finish up the main building first and move on to the stables afterwards, so you could open on time, but you'd most likely still have construction going on at the test run and maybe opening and the horses wouldn't be able to move in until a week later.

- We can't open without the horses, Lorelai told him. The guests will be expecting them.

- I figured, Tom nodded. - Now, I've given you all the options I have. The rest is up to you. I have to get back to work, get back to me on this ASAP.

- We will, Lorelai told him, still sporting a smile, despite the headache this dilemma was causing her.

The one good thing about this was that Michel had stopped complaining about being forced to miss his dog show. In fact, he looked as concerned about this as Sookie and that was saying a lot, seeing as Sookie was about one or two steps away from paper-bagging it.

- Okay, Lorelai sighed. - What do you guys think of this?

Her two co-workers either were physically unable to respond or they just couldn't find the words. Either way, they remained silent. Not coping with the silence very well, Lorelai spoke again.

- Well, the way Tom explained it there are two ways we can go, here. We can either begin cutting corners. With the way Tom was talking, I'm guessing that would take a lot of corners. Or we can do as he says and postpone the opening.

- How can we do that, Sookie wondered. - We have reservations already.

- Michel, Lorelai asked. - How many do we have booked for the opening?

- I think we are up in four or five, maybe six for the opening, Michel told her.

- And for the following two weeks, Lorelai enquired.

- A few, the concierge recalled. - Maybe ten in total? I'm not sure.

- What are we gonna do about them, Sookie wondered. - As far as we know, they've already made arrangements, booked their vacations.

- Well, we can't exactly have them stay in an unfinished inn, either, Lorelai reasoned.

- How about taking them into our homes, like we did with the fire, Sookie suggested.

- That was an emergency, Lorelai pointed out.

- We could call the guests and ask them if they would be willing to postpone their vacation for a couple of weeks, Michel suggested.

- Good idea, Sookie chimed in. - We could offer them a discount or complimentary meals for the inconvenience.

- That's a thought, Lorelai nodded. - But in case they don't go for it, we need to have a plan B. We have to call the Cheshire cat, the Cookie House and any other place in the area and see how many they can put up.

- I'll check with the Tally Rand, Michel offered.

- And I'll ask Jenna if they have any rooms available.

As the three of them threw themselves into solving this problem, Lorelai stole a glance towards the construction site that was to become her and Sookie's new business. With all that had gone on, not just this past week, but the past year as well, Lorelai began wondering if there would ever be something in her life that didn't come with a million problems or complications.

TBC

_AN: In case anyone's wondering about this chapter, lets just say I was doing some research and realized that ASP seriously screwed up her timing. If we were to take every date mentioned in the show literally, then the last five episodes of the season would've had to have taken place in the one and the same week, which is kinda ridiculous, not to mention impossible, seeing as episodes 20 and 21 alone took up a whole week by themselves and indicated that the test run in episode 22 took place a week later than that._


	75. Manic Monday part two

AN: Ok, guys. So it's now just a week left before my trip to Glasgow, and you know what that means, a little bit of uncertaincy regarding when updates will come. I will do my best to write as much as I can in between packing, finishing up the costume and my schoolwork. Hopefully I can manage an update right before and if I'm lucky I can manage one right after coming back. But just remember that last time I ended up getting sick, so don't expect too much. The only thing I can say for sure is that there will be no updates between the 15th and the 19th, I leave early on one and come back late on the other. As usual, a shoutout to the lovely Steph!

**smileyGGfan** - LOL, I actually went to youtube in search for that comment. Not because I didn't believe you. I just wanted to see it with my own eyes. I've never before heard of people being recognized for reading a story, that's hilarious. I don't think I wanna be picking out _a_ favorite. If I could make a list then, yes, the person's right; you would be featured on it. I like people who take the time to comment and I mean really comment, not just asking me to update soon (although I appreciate those as well). I mean, how else am I gonna learn if I don't get feedback? And you, my friend, you've been with me from the start. You got the review ball rolling, so to speak :)

**anon** - Oh, trust me, this story will go far beyond just Luke and Lorelai getting together. So many things swirling in my head as well as the things I already wrote down.

**SG-Fan** - I now know what it's like to be stunned into silence... 74 reviews. Even if half of them were the same two words being used over and over again, it's still a bit headspinning, not to mention awesome. Especially since after revealling to me that you had a headache, you read another 28 chapters before calling it quits for the day. Happy to have one more reader supporting my writing style. And I've gotta say finally, _finally_ someone who _got_ why Rory didn't ask "who's the father" when Lorelai told her she might be pregnant. When I wrote it I thought it was so obvious that Rory assumed it was Alex and finally someone who thought so as well :) And yay, another Simon/Kaylee shipper in my midst, now I really have to upload my S/K fics here. I'll try to remember that after the con. I can't wait, not just for the con itself, but also cause I'm gonna get the DVD for the last con there and I will finally be able to replay the Jewel/Sean kiss and Jewel's reaction to my costume (since I didn't wear my glasses and couldn't see squak). lol, my ears are still ringing from that howler ;) And seriously, if I was gonna make something into a dream, the character would've woken up in the same chapter as the dream. I know I'm evil, but I'm not _that_ evil.

**sarahb2007** - I haven't skipped an episode yet, have I? You won't be seeing me skip longer periods of time. I laid the bases in having a continuously floating story. The only exception to this rule was the timskip between the early part and the late part of Lorelai and Rory's backpacking, but that was a necessary timeskip, cause it would be just ridiculous for me to throw in filler stuff just for the sake of slowing down the story. The upcoming Summer however will _not_ include any major time-skips.

**HippieChild** - Well, I had to end the pregnancy sometime, otherwize we'd have an elephant-gestation on our hands and Lorelai would be completely miserable. Hopefully you're enjoying the William part as well. I'm not gonna promise there'll be a second pregnancy, but I'm not gonna rule it out either. It just depends on how far I keep this story alive.

**CrimsonScarz** - It all has some significance for the story, even if it's minor. I don't think the last chapter was amongst the minor ones. It was a necessary move of mine to clean up ASP lacking sense of timing.

**Gymtig** - Yes, you have a point there, but it would hurt the inn's rep to have construction going on at the opening day and Lorelai and Sookie depends on the Dragonfly getting good rep. And the LL stuff is coming ;)

* * *

They hadn't talked. He didn't mean in a literal sense that they hadn't talked. In fact, it didn't take Lorelai more than a couple of days before she had shown up at the diner again, William in her arms. She talked to him about Rory and the latest update from Yale. She chattered away about William and his newest habit of rolling onto his stomach and failing to roll back. When she mentioned it, he thought about letting it slip how he'd witnessed it that morning at her house, but as that would only lead onto the subject of the kiss, he let it slide. First of all, he wasn't about to discuss something that private in his very public establishment, but secondly, he'd just gotten the sense that the kiss had become somewhat of a 'don't go there' topic. Lorelai, at least, seemed to be ignoring it for the time being.

He knew he should've stayed and said something that morning, but the thought didn't really occur to him until he was already in the middle of helping Ceasar out with the lunch rush and he just couldn't get away. When Lorelai didn't come in that day, he took it as a sign not to go back to her house. If her not showing was good or bad was somewhat unclear to him. On one hand, the only times he could remember Lorelai avoiding the diner had been whenever she'd been mad at him. But as she hadn't seemed mad at the time, he decided to interpret it as her needing some space to think. He had planned on looking for her the second day, but then the owner of the car called and he'd had to head for Litchfield to both settle things with the man, as well as picking up his truck from where he'd parked it outside the bar. When she had returned to the diner two days later he'd hoped she would bring it up, only she hadn't. This was the woman who never let anything just slip past her and not make some sort of a comment. Luke was still not sure what to think of that.

Lorelai seemed to have disappeared again. At least she hadn't shown up for breakfast or lunch, like the days before. He did remember her mentioning having an early meeting over at the inn, so he wasn't so surprised about breakfast. But when the dinner rush started to pick up, he found himself wondering where she was. The diner was packed. So packed that he caught a customer trying to untie the baby bouncer from the chair in the corner. Logically with every other chair in the establishment being occupied, it made sense to free up the one that wasn't used at the moment, but Luke didn't like the audacity of the man. As he also had that haughty business incorporation vibe about him, it didn't matter how rational his arguments were, Luke told him to either wait for a table to free up or get lost. Safe to say, the man huffed and walked out the door just a minute later.

Despite the rush, Luke went over to make sure the baby bouncer was still safely secured to the chair. He wasn't sure when it was that he'd begun considering it William's chair. True, it was a rare sight to see the diner so packed that there was no other available chair in sight, but he'd always intended to remove the bouncer should a customer be needing the chair. However, when he'd spotted the man trying to remove it, the first thought that had occurred in his mind was how that was William's chair and the man had no right to assume he could just take it like that. If someone had confronted him about this, he could've peg it on his knowledge that Lorelai came in every day and she always had William with her and from a practical point of view it would just be a waste of time to carry the bouncer in and out. But deep down he knew that wasn't it. It wasn't about practicality, no matter how much he said it when confronted.

Like with his feelings for Lorelai, which he'd denied for far too long, he had to acknowledge that there was more to it. And he knew deep down that it wasn't because of Lorelai that he cared so much about William. He'd known it long before his feelings for Lorelai had even surfaced the conscious side of his brain. He'd seen that boy be born. He'd been the first aside from his mother and the medical personnel to hold him. His mere presence made the boy's face light up. There was no doubt about it. Luke was the closest thing that kid had to a father. And he was realizing more and more that that's what he wanted to be.

It wasn't until the dinner rush began slowing down and Luke was delivering a grilled cheese and a cheese omelette to one of the tables by the window, that he heard the bell ring in that special way that always told him it was her without having to look up to confirm it. As he set the plates down, he heard the unmistakable sound of her plopping onto one of the stools and dropping her purse onto the counter.

- What a day, she moaned when he returned to the counter. - I need coffee.

Luke noticed to his surprise that she was still resting William up against her shoulder. The only times she didn't immediately strap him into the baby bouncer was when she was only ordering something to go. However she had taken off her own jacket and Williams hat and snowsuit were already lying on the counter in front of her.

- What, she asked, when she caught him staring.

- Nothing, he shrugged. - It's just that you usually put him down in the bouncy chair before you order, that's all.

- I would, she sighed. - But he's in a particularly clingy mood today. I've tried putting him down a million times to sleep and every time he began fussing all over again. One of the many reasons I'm in dire need of coffee right now.

- Rough day, huh, he noted, pouring her coffee.

- I'm seriously considering a career change, she informed him. - Like a ballerina or a fireman. Hey, maybe I can become a tornado chaser like in Twister, that's gotta be less stressful than this.

She bent down intending to take a sip from her coffee when her cell phone began ringing.

- No, no, no, she groaned. - Can't even get a single sip before that damn thing rings again.

- Outside, he reminded her, pointing to the sign behind him.

- Luke, come on, she moaned. - It's like forty degrees outside.

- This sign isn't just for decoration, Luke reminded her.

- But what about him, she asked, trying to comfort a crying William, who'd been abruptly woken up by the sudden ringing.

- Hand him over, Luke told her, accepting the baby over the counter.

Luke gently rested the boy up against his shoulder, jiggling him up and down, while stroking his back, the crying subsiding a little. With her hands now free, Lorelai pulled the phone up from her purse and flipped it open.

- Hello, she answered. - Who's this...? Oh, right... right, Mr. Thompson, I did... yeah, gotta love that star sixty-nine, huh?

She grabbed her jacket from the counter and rested the phone between her chin and her shoulder, while putting it on, as well as backing towards the door. Once the jacket was on, she grabbed the phone again and stepped out the door.

In the short time this had happened, William's crying had reduced itself to soft whimpers, however he was far from content yet. Having read something somewhere about how a lot of babies fell asleep easier when they heard the sounds of a washing machine, vacuum cleaner or other household appliances, Luke began humming in a low bass voice, only loud enough for the infant to hear. After five minutes William's whimpers had stopped completely and the boy had begun sucking on his thumb, his eyes fluttering closed.

Luke had just placed the boy in the baby bouncer a minute earlier, when Lorelai finally hung up the phone and walked back into the diner.

- Hey, she uttered, surprised, when she spotted William sleeping contently on his own. - How on earth did you manage to put him down? He's been clinging to me all day long.

- He was tired, Luke shrugged, then gestured to her phone. - What was that all about?

- Oh, you know, Lorelai sighed. - Just one of the many fun things I've had to deal with today.

- What happened, he asked, knowing very well by just the tone of her voice that something was going on.

- Sookie, Michel and I had a meeting with Tom this morning, Lorelai explained. - There's been a little incident and long story short; we can't open on the 6th, like we planned, because Tom can't guarantee they'll be done by then. So now we're calling back every single person who's booked a room with us between the 6th and the 20th to ask if they're willing to postpone their stay or if they'd like us to secure them a room elsewhere. That guy who just called was one of those who we didn't reach earlier.

- How'd he know how to reach you, Luke asked, curiously.

- Well, he star sixty-nined the missed call and since I decided to forward the inn's phone number to my cell, I'm now on call-back duty until we've sorted out all the guests.

- And how's that going?

- Well, that guy wasn't too thrilled with me, Lorelai sighed. - I can tell you that much. It's not that I don't get their inconvenience. I too would be upset if I booked a room somewhere and they called me back and said they couldn't take my reservation after all, but that guy nearly bit my head off, tirading me about the poor level of service and if this was the way we were, he was gonna make sure no one he knew ever stayed with us. Not even after promising to secure him a room at another inn and cover the extra expenses, did he stop with the yelling.

She groaned and placed her head in her hands.

- Ugh, she moaned. - This day.

Luke leaned over the counter and gently placed his hand on her arm, stroking it soothingly. He did spot the puzzled look she gave him before turning and staring down into the half-full coffee mug sitting in front of her, but he decided not to press the matter. It wasn't really the time or the place to have that conversation.

TBC


	76. Endings

AN: Minor notice. I don't know if there's a Hartford Memorial hospital, I was sure that was what they had called it until all of a sudden I saw an episode where they called it "St. Josephs", so... I'm aware of it, but since I already used "Hartford Memorial" in earlier chapters I have to go with it. Shoutout to my always lovely beta, Steph! Love ya hon!

AN 2: Just so you know, you're not getting any until Tuesday at the earliest. Dirty, I know. I won't even be near a computer from when I leave on Thursday until I come back late, late on Monday and on Tuesday it's right to work. So just so you know, there will be a minimum of a week until you will see a new chapter.

AN 3: I'm dedicating this chapter. Yup, you heard me... or read me, or whatever... This chapter is officially dedicated to **Ele**, maker of the wonderful "Story of Luke & Lorelai" vids. You all HAVE to watch these vids, they are simply amazing, she's gonna make one vid for each season, so far seasons 1-4 are up and they are just wonderful. So everybody either look for **Ele0309** on Youtube or find the Music Vid thread at the GG section of FanForum. You won't regret it! I myself am looking forward to the coming seasons!

**Ele** - It's atm set in early March. And I will do my best to stay healthy. I'm even staying far away from my very sick roommate right now ;)

**Alexia** - Talking will come. They can't pretend to ignore it forever ;)

**LLfreak** - Never ever apologise for long reviews, I LOVE long reviews. I know what you mean about skipping stories cause they just don't look like the kind of stories I wanna read then one day I just try one of them out and I get one hell of a surprise... lol I don't think I read that story you mentioned, but I'll search for it. And trust me, people _did_ ask questions, but Lorelai changed the subject and simply avoided answering. I have even had Luke notice it in one of the chapters. Also, never read too much into things I say that include words like "maybe" or "might" in them. I said I _might_ not be able to update, not that it was a definite.

**Caffeination** - _'Don't worry, I won't comment retroactively about every chapter'_ Why not? (pout) I'm glad you liked my babysitting chapters. I like your inner thoughts about Luke's feelings for William and that little back and forth there and I love that you came to the conclution you did. And no, memories of the conception are lost. Memories of the events around the conception however, that is another story. And no, I will not give the juicy scene that is William's conception. You will get other juicy scenes (I've even already made the banner for that series), but not that one.

**lukelover87** - Yay, you're catching up! And you're not the only one who's a sucker for Daddy Luke. I love daddy Luke, I love writing daddy Luke. The conversation will come soon, but since this was LL I couldn't just have them jump. It wouldn't be them if it wasn't a little bit of confusion as well. But the good stuff is coming.

**smileyGGfan** - Well, you could just stick to my name and there will be no more confustion ;) And you're welcome :) I can't really picture LL talking "code". I can envision them whispering, checking if the coast is clear and such, but the code thing? Nope. But it was amusing to read ;) I too love those simple little gestures more than the grand ones. I mean I love the grand ones as well, but anyone can pull off something grand and showy... those simple ones are really the ones I feel say "I love you" in their relationship; like you said, the touch of an arm; or a hug. I love some of their hugging scenes way more than their kissing scenes.

* * *

- Something's definitely off with this burger, Lorelai told him for the third time that day.

- How can it be, Luke argued back. - It's the same stupid burger with the same stupid ingredients that I make you every single stupid day.

- Oy, doesn't someone need to invest in a synonym book, Lorelai teased, taking another bite off her burger, wrinkling her nose. - Is it the meat? Has the meat gone bad?

She didn't realize how loudly she'd said it until she caught Luke's startled look.

- Do you also like yelling 'fire' in a crowded theater, he demanded.

- Depends, she shrugged. - I mean if the movie's really boring it could be an entertaining alternative.

- This is a diner, Luke pointed out.

- I know that.

- So, the point is for people to come in and eat and hopefully come back again. It's how I run my establishment. And the key to that is not to have them believe they'll contract food poisoning from just coming into the place.

- I can't help what my taste buds are picking up, Lorelai shrugged. - Something is different.

- Nothing is different, Luke insisted. - Will you just eat that thing, already?

- Oh _no_, no you didn't, she exclaimed in realization. - You did _not_ put low-fat cheese on my burger. That's sacrilige! Cheese is the corner stone of burgers, together with the meat and bread. You can't just callously substitute one with a healthier alternative.

- It's good for you, he argued.

- And the coffee? Add as much nutmeg you want, buddy, you're still not hiding the fact that it's decaf.

Luke sighed in defeat and grabbed the plate and mug.

- What amazes me is that you thought you'd get away with it, Lorelai continued.

- It tastes exactly the same, Luke argued. - How on earth can you possibly tell the difference?

- Hah, so you admit it, she triumphed. - Really, Luke. You should recognize when you've been beaten. If you couldn't fool me when I was pregnant and my taste buds were all out of whack, you never will.

- Is it really that bad for me to wanna prevent you from dying young, Luke asked in full sincerity.

- My death, my choice, Lorelai countered, stubbornly.

Luke rolled his eyes and headed into the kitchen, most likely to remake her burger. Sighing, Lorelai tried to ignore the unwanted tingles she was feeling as she watched him go. For bypassers it just looked like the two of them had just had one of their usual banters, but what Lorelai really was doing was biding her time. Her feelings had not gone away since she'd first acknowledged their existence, if anything they had grown stronger over the time that had passed. But with Luke being with Nicole, she'd had no other choice but to ignore them and with the exception of a couple of slip-ups, she'd done a very good job at that. Now with Luke on the market again, or at least heading that way, seeing as he hadn't yet mentioned anything about the status on his divorce just yet, it was worse.

Looking at her past with men, she wouldn't exactly say she leaped from man to man. While Rory had been growing up, Lorelai had been very specific about keeping her relationship with guys as light and uncomplicated as possible. Not that she'd slept around or anything, but she kept it from getting too serious. She never hid the fact that she was a single mom from the guys, but she kept her dating life far away from her life with her kid. It was what she needed to do. Max had been the first one that had crossed that invisible line. Lorelai had carefully weighed her options back and forth before she decided to take a chance on him. He'd been the first man she'd considered could eventually become more than just another short-term relationship. Christopher, however, had always fluttered in and out of her and Rory's lives. With him being Rory's father, she couldn't deny that he'd been an easy candidate to consider for the role as her man. But reality had a tendency to rear its ugly head whenever the two of them had come close. And when they had taken that leap, they'd been hit with a pretty large dose of it.

It wasn't until this last year, that Lorelai had begun to realize that it wasn't just bad timing that prevented her and Chris from getting it together, like she'd always kinda anticipated them doing... some day. And it wasn't because she had feelings for Luke or how that it was the strongest she'd ever felt for another human being, save for her two kids, at least not entirely. William had been the key to her recent realization. Lorelai had come to witness how a father _should_ be with his kid. The irony of it all was how Luke didn't even know he was the boy's father, yet he'd still managed to be there more for his son in those four months, than Chris had been for his daughter in the nineteen years since Rory was born. That was what had deflated that last balloon. Put the final nail in the coffin that was her teenage fantasy of her and Chris one day playing house.

It felt weird to finalize something that'd been with her for as long as those thoughts had. Not bad weird, but she wouldn't say good weird either. Just different. Endings, in her opinion, were never good. Beginnings and middles, those were the good parts. Endings just sucked. When you finished a really good popsicle, you always ended up sucking on the tasteless wooden stick afterwards. A really great movie was always followed by the same dark screen. Relationships ended in break-ups. Life ended in death. Now, birth wasn't exactly a piece of cake, neither was the frustrating process of searching the masses for a contender, but what followed made it all worthwhile. One couldn't say the same with endings. The end of a relationship was mostly filled with pain, fights, insecurities. The end of life; illnesses and misery. No, safe to say, Lorelai Gilmore was not a fan of endings.

That was probably another reason this whole Luke thing was terrifying her so much. All good things eventually came to an end and it was the ending that scared her. Not that she thought they wouldn't make it. This had nothing to do with doubts and insecurities. She believed in him. If one only judged by the way he'd always been there for her, not to mention Rory and William, there wasn't even a smidgen of a doubt. But she had taken that leap of faith before and she'd been burned majorly. And it didn't matter how independent of a woman she considered herself to be, a large contributor to her managing to rise again was knowing that no matter what, Luke would always be there for her. Someone to share the good things with, someone to confide in when things got bad. It was probably selfish, not to mention unlogical, of her to use some of his best qualities against him. But she just didn't want to imagine one day no longer having his friendship, because they took the risk and it blew up in their faces.

This was what had always held her back in the past whenever her and Luke had gotten close. What had made her sneak out of the bed when she'd realized they had crossed that line and what had made her sigh in relief, as well as disappointment when she'd learned he held no memory of it. Nicole had entered the picture at the worst time, but in a skewed kinda perception it was also the best time, as making Luke not an option had given her time to distance herself from the situation and think. Now Nicole was out of the picture, or at least getting there and she and Luke had already stepped over that line between friendship and more. Ignoring the kiss wouldn't work forever, nor did she want to. All it did was postpone the inevitable confrontation they would have to have, as well as putting the possibility of more on hold.

Luke re-emerged from the kitchen, a new plate in his hand.

- It's your funeral, he warned her.

- Well, we all have to go sometime, she quipped, taking a bite out of her new burger, which she could happily note contained nothing remotely healthy, just the way she liked it.

Luke rolled his eyes and went and fetched the coffee pot, pouring her a new cup of coffee. Lorelai took a large sip and nodded in approval. Looking around she noticed that the diner was slowly emptying as lunch was over. Only a couple of people occupied a few tables, none of them being anyone she knew. Knowing that with Luke not bringing the topic up, she inevitably would, the setting just seemed like the ideal time to do it.

- Hey Luke, she heard herself ask.

- Yeah?

The sound of her cell phone ringing suddenly filled the diner.

- Hold that thought, she told him, earning herself a confused look.

- Outside, he reminded her, as she searched her purse, which was at the moment collaborating with her wallet on hiding her phone.

- There's barely anyone here, she countered.

Nevertheless she still jumped off the stool, nudging her head in the direction of the baby bouncer, where William was currently sleeping, reminding Luke to keep an eye on him for her while she took the call.

- Hello, she answered the phone, still in the diner, but slowly on her way towards the door.

- _Lorelai, it's me_, Emily replied. - _Do you have a moment?_

- Yeah, I guess, Lorelai shrugged.

- _It's your grandmother. She's gone._

Lorelai stopped dead in her tracks, earning an annoyed look from Luke as he probably thought it was another one of her many tricks to avoid having to go outside.

- What, she asked, wondering if maybe she'd heard wrong or that she was misunderstanding what her mother was saying.

- _Last night_, Emily confirmed. - _She apparently had a heart attack. The maid found her in the morning._

- But, Lorelai objected. - I didn't even know her heart was a thing. Was her heart a thing? Did we know that?

She looked up and noticed that Luke's expression has softened as he made the realization on what this conversation possibly was about.

- _No, it was quite unexpected_, Emily told her. - _There wasn't any warning at all._

- But we just, Lorelai stuttered, sinking down on a vacant chair at the table right next to her. - We just saw her.

- _I know_, Emily sighed. - _It's a complete shock._

- How is Dad, Lorelai wondered, trying to imagine her father's reaction to the news. - How's he holding up?

- _He's completely fallen apart_, her mother informed her. - _From the moment he heard the news, he's been almost incoherent._

Lorelai could very well understand. Parental relationships seemed to skip a generation in her family. She had never managed to connect with her parents on any level, while her and Rory were completely inseparable and although William was only 4 months old and thereby depended on her by need, Lorelai could tell that she would remain close with him as well. True, the relationship between her mother and grandmother was insufferable at best, but her dad had always been very close to his mother. And as far as she could tell herself, her mother had also been if not overly close, at least closer to her parents than Lorelai was to her.

- _He's in his office now with the Scotch_, Emily continued. - _And he wants turtleneck soup... He asks for it over and over._

- What's turtleneck soup, Lorelai asked confused.

- _Apparently something his mother used to have made for him when he was a little boy, and now he wants some, and I can't seem to find anybody who has any idea what it is._

- Well, Mom, have you looked on the internet, Lorelai suggested.

- _For what?_

- For turtleneck soup, Lorelai shrugged. - You could try and Google it.

- _Can I_, Emily challenged. - _Can I Google it?_

- Okay, Lorelai sighed. - How about I try and track down the soup.

- _How?_

- Well, I have at least one chef on my speed dial and if I come up with nothing, there's, like I said, always the internet, Lorelai shrugged. - I promise I will do everything in my power to find it. How does that sound?

- _That sounds wonderful_, Emily sighed. - _I'm so stressed out with this list of instructions your grandmother left me. Apparently she was morbid enough to plan her funeral in detail, so I have a million things to do. I'm surprised the woman didn't leave instructions for her wake as well._

- Anything I can help you with, Lorelai offered.

- _If you can find the soup, that'll be enough_, Emily assured her. - _Oh, and if you could tell Rory, I'd greatly appreciate it._

- Of course I'll tell her, Lorelai assured her. - I'll let you continue with everything and I'll be there as quickly as I can.

- _All right, bye._

- Bye, Lorelai sighed, flipping her phone close, but remaining in her seat.

- You alright, Luke asked, concerned, taking the seat opposite of hers.

- My grandmother's dead, she informed him.

- I figured, he replied, not meeting her eyes.

Lorelai could tell he was a bit uncomfortable thinking about how inappropriate their previous conversation had been, she was too. Here she'd been sitting and joking around about death and in the meantime her own grandmother had passed away.

- Do you want me to, Luke said, after a shared moment of silence, gesturing with the nod of his head towards William. - You want me to watch him for you?

Lorelai contemplated his offer for a moment.

- No, she finally replied. - I appreciate the offer, but I think I need to bring him with me on this. Dad's completely broken up about losing his mom. I think it would help him to see as many of the people he loves as he can right now, especially his grandson. I don't know if I told you this, but he's become my number one diaper volunteer in that household. I don't even think dad has even seen a diaper up close before, not with me or Rory. But then William enters the scene and it all changes.

Lorelai chuckled, as the scenes from the last couple of Friday Night Dinners replayed in her mind.

- Mom hates it, of course, Lorelai continued. - She finds it completely inappropriate for him to do it as that's what the hired help is there to do for them. But dad just doesn't care. I think maybe on some level he's trying to make up for not having that with Rory. Even before I was out of the house, he didn't have much to do with Rory. He was still upset with my refusing to marry Chris and getting pregnant in the first place that he rarely in the little spare time he had, between work and various functions, even as much as glanced at her... or me. And then when I left he only got to see her when I brought her with me to the house for the holidays. I think he really regrets that, especially with how he's gotten to know her in these last couple of years. He completely adores her, never misses a single opportunity to see her. He calls her all the time, he visits the campus whenever he's in the area. He's just doing what he can to make up for the lost time.

- Well that's good, Luke nodded.

- I know, Lorelai smiled. - And with William he's just making sure there will be nothing to make up for.

She didn't even realize that she'd shed a tear until Luke bent forward and brushed it off her face with his thumb.

- I think he'll appreciate you bringing William, Luke assured her.

- Yeah, she croaked, her heart rate picking up from the gentle touch.

- Anything else I can help with, he asked her.

- Do you happen to know how to make turtleneck soup?

- What's turtleneck soup, Luke asked in return.

- Okay, I guess you don't know, Lorelai chuckled. - That's what mom was calling me about. Apparently Gran used to make it for dad when he was a kid and he's been asking for it over and over again and mom can't find it anywhere, so now she's turned to me to find out for her.

- He does know that it's illegal to eat turtle, right, Luke wondered.

- Normally I'd say yes, but he's a bit out of it right now, Lorelai sighed. - So you don't know it?

- Sorry, Luke shrugged. - Dishes involving endangered species aren't really my expertise.

Lorelai could tell that if this had been under more happy circumstances she would've gotten a rant out of him about now, but he didn't say anything else.

- I guess I should check with Sookie, Lorelai shrugged as she got up.

- Ok, Luke nodded and got up as well.

She must've had that lost kinda look about her, because before she knew it she distinctively heard him mutter 'come here' or something to that effect right before she was pulled into a warm, comforting embrace. She buried her head in the nook of his neck for a moment and felt one arm going up to her lower back and the other stroking her head. It only lasted for a couple of seconds before he let her go, but it was enough for her to feel at least some of the burden leave her shoulders. Then as she began gathering her belongings and putting on her jacket, Luke unstrapped William from the bouncer and put the snowsuit on him.

- You have everything, he asked as he lifted the boy up.

- Keys, wallet, phone, _baby_, Lorelai said as she accepted William from Luke. - And a vague memory of where Sookie's house is located. I'm good to go.

- Let me know if there's anything, Luke told her.

- Will do.

The trip to Sookie's house turned out to be fruitful as Sookie not only translated 'turtleneck soup' to be 'mock turtle soup', a much more legal dish to make and enjoy, but she also found a recipe for it and immediately went about making it. This allowed Lorelai to show up at her parents door less than two hours later, holding the soup with one arm and William with the other. Emily opened the door, whilst arguing with someone over the phone. She merely waved Lorelai in and gently shoved her in direction of Richard's study. Lorelai found her father lying on the couch, staring into the thin air, a drink in his hand and music she easily associated with black'n white movies playing in the background.

- Hey, dad, she said, softly, closing the door behind her.

- Lorelai, he asked, not even turning to look at her.

- It's me, she confirmed, putting the soup on the table in front of him before pulling up a chair to sit on. - I brought soup and someone who's very eager to see his grandpa.

She held William out towards Richard, hoping he would accept the baby from her.

- William, Richard sniffled, taking his grandson into his arms.

William, being a baby, had no idea what was going on, of course, but it was obvious for Lorelai that the boy could tell that his grandfather was sad. He had gotten much better at holding his head up on his own and was almost sitting in his grandpa's arms. But only almost, as Richard still had to support the back of his head so the boy didn't overly exhaust himself. But this put the baby close enough for him to sate his curiosity and it was obvious that his antenna was up about something. Lorelai didn't realize what it was until William had grabbed Richard's mustache with a firm grip and attempted to pull it towards him, failing miserably as the mustache was attached to a couple of hundred pounds heavy man. When William realized he wasn't going to explore this odd new type of hair, he let out a frustrated cry. He moved his little hand up and attempted at grabbing the nose, which again was a little too big for his hand to really get any grip on.

Lorelai saw a fleeting smile appear on her father's face as his grandson sated his curiosity and knew that she'd been right to bring the baby with her. William squealed of delight when he grabbed a big chunk of Richard's hair and the man complied to the baby's request to bring said grey substance closer. And being a baby, William did the first thing that came to mind whenever he had something new to explore, he put it in his mouth.

- Does grandpa's hair taste good, sweetie, Lorelai asked her son.

William only gurgled in reply, but eventually let go of the hair as he lost interest.

- Thank you for bringing him, Lorelai, Richard said, sincerely.

- You're welcome, Lorelai replied, softly. - How are you holding up?

Richard let out a big sob and Lorelai immediately wished she hadn't asked. She was supposed to get his mind off the loss of his mother, not remind him about it.

- I'm sorry, I'm sorry, she muttered, handing her father a tissue. - Let's just change the subject. William, try tasting your grandpa's hair again.

- I'm fine, Richard replied, though he didn't sound too convincing. - I'm fine... I... I just have to deal with this... regret.

This confused her as she couldn't for the life of her understand what her father had to regret when it came to his mother.

- What regret, dad, she asked. - You and Gran were so close.

Richard shook his head.

- The last words we exchanged, he said. - We exchanged in anger.

Lorelai remembered the confrontation her father had had with her grandmother, back when Trix had short of called her a charity case and reprimanded her parents for allowing her to become one. Richard had spoken up on behalf of them all, telling his mother to back off. Lorelai hadn't realized that that had been the last time her father had seen his mother.

- But dad, she began, not really sure what to say.

- I lost my temper and I was disrespectful, Richard sobbed. - And that's the way... that's the way it ended. With an argument and hateful words.

- That was one little fight, Lorelai pointed out. - Everyone has them, occasionally, even me and Rory. But one little fight doesn't change what you and Gran had.

- That woman raised me, Richard stated. - And she taught me. And she took care of the family even after Father died. And I spoke her as if I owed her nothing, as if she was like anyone else in the world and not the saint of a woman that she was.

When he said that last part, his voice crumbled and the last few words drowned in sobs.

- You only have one set of parents, Lorelai, he told her. - Remember that. I forgot and now I have to live with that for the rest of my life.

He turned his gaze down to the infant in his arms.

- You remember too, boy, he told his grandson, who of course didn't understand a single thing Richard was telling him, but listened anyway. - Your mother isn't without her share of mistakes, but she has a lot more of her grandmother in her than I give her credit for. She's strong and whatever you'd want to do with your life, she'll make it happen. Just like she did with your sister.

Lorelai didn't know what to say. Hearing this form of praise coming from her father had for a long time been on the list of things she longed for, but never dared to believe would happen. She'd always pegged Richard as a too proud of a man to ever manage to overcome his disappointment in her to see the actual good she was doing with her life. Today she'd been proven wrong.

- You mentioned soup, Richard suddenly asked.

- What, Lorelai asked, snapping out of her daze.

- When you came in, he elaborated. - You said something about soup.

- Yes, soup, she nodded, shoving the container she'd brought over towards him. - I brought soup. Mom said you were talking about mock turtle soup, so I had Sookie make you some.

- I need a spoon, he told her.

- Of course, she nodded. - I'll get you one. Just sit there, okay?

As she got up, William let out a dissatisfied sound. She checked the clock that hung on the wall and noted that it was about time for William to eat again.

- Looks like you're not the only one who's hungry, dad, she told her father, accepting her whimpering baby from him. - Come here, baby.

Consoling her son, she went out the door in search of a spoon. Emily was still on the phone. Lorelai was unsure if this was the same person she was arguing with before or if this was a new one.

- How is he doing, Emily asked, following her into the kitchen as she lowered the phone for a couple of seconds.

- He needs a spoon, Lorelai informed her.

- He's going to eat?

- He's going to eat, Lorelai confirmed.

- Thank God. Take an apple. See if you can get him to eat an apple, she told her before returning her focus to the person at the other end. - I'm here. Yes, I will take the simple stepson's number. Thank you. I will speak slowly. Thank you.

She hung up and put the phone down on the kitchen table.

- Not that one, Emily told her as she picked a spoon up from the kitchen drawer. - And take some bread, too.

- Mom, I only have the one hand, Lorelai informed her, gently jiggling William to keep him calm.

- Alright, we'll try the bread later, Emily agreed.

- So, how are the arrangements coming?

- The woman made the instructions twenty years ago, Emily complained. - So the reverend is retired, the florist has moved, and two of the pallbearers are no longer with us. Luckily, they both had sons who look remarkably like them, so I think we can get away with it.

- Mom, I really don't think Gran is going to rise from the grave and yell at you if she's not pleased with your execution, Lorelai pointed out.

- I know, Emily nodded. - But I can't help feel that I have to do this to her exact specifications.

- Well, good luck on that, Lorelai told her mother. - I should bring this stuff to Dad and get William fed.

- You do that, Emily nodded. - I'm going to call the florist's idiot stepson.

Before either of them could do anything, Richard stormed out of his study in a rage.

- What's wrong, Emily asked him.

- This is outrageous, he yelled, sharply. - They've completely ruined it!

- Who ruined what, Emily asked.

- Trix's obituary, Richard explained. - The Courant just faxed it through. It's disgraceful! I'll sue them!

- Just calm down, Emily begged.

- Yes, please dad, Lorelai seconded, gently shushing her crying baby. - You're scaring William.

Emily took the paper from Richard and began reading:

- 'Lorelai Gilmore died this week at age 86. A member of the prominent Gilmore family and widow of Charles Abbott Gilmore, she is survived by a son, Richard Gilmore, and numerous other family members and devoted friends.'

- Well, dad, Lorelai muttered. - That's...

- It's an insult, Richard yelled. - That's all they write!?! Nothing about her charity work or her collecting or her travels? And not a word about the new maternity wing that she donated to St. Joseph's! You tell me where all of the fine people of Hartford are supposed to have all their babies if it weren't for my mother. You tell me where you would've gone, Lorelai, if your grandmother hadn't been generous enough to ensure you a place where you could have my grandson.

- Actually, dad, Lorelai muttered, silently. - I had him at Hartford Memorial.

- Alright, Emily said, preventing Richard from starting up a lecture on choice of hospital. - Calm down, Richard. We will take care of it.

- She was a saint, Richard insisted. - A saint.

- I know, Emily replied. - We'll make sure it says 'saint' somewhere in the article.

This seemed to calm Richard down a little bit more.

- You sure, he asked.

- Don't worry about it, Lorelai assured him.

- Because it's very, very wrong!

- Here's your spoon, Lorelai told him, holding it out for him.

- I'm not hungry, Richard said, stubbornly before storming back into his study.

- Wonderful, Emily sighed. - Yet another thing I have to take care of.

- You need any help, mom?

- No, I'm fine, Emily assured her quickly, then pausing a little bit to think. - Or, well... There is something I need to do tomorrow. I have to go to Gran's house and sort through her personal papers.

- Ok, Lorelai nodded. - I'll be there. What time?

- I have some errands before that, so how does noon work for you?

- I'll bring a couple of Danishes, Lorelai told her mother.

- Wonderful, Emily sighed before turning her focus back to the phone.

William, sensing that food was definitely _not_ on its way, gave her a vocal reminder of his presence. Lorelai carried her son with her into the living room. Ignoring every lecture her mother had given her on proper etiquette on the subject of breastfeeding, Lorelai just made herself comfortable on the livingroom couch, piling up a couple of pillows to rest her arm, buttoning down her blouse. As he latched on, she sighed and looked down at her son. Between taking care of him, of the inn, her job and scheduling in time with Rory... how was she gonna manage helping organizing a funeral as well?

TBC


	77. Family inbreeding

AN: Ok, so, yeah I wasn't kidding about the minor update hiatus. No, I didn't get sick, or well I got a sore throat at the con, but I was actually feeling better when I came back. My problem this time seemed to be lack of sleep, so I was constantly exhausted when I got back from work. But I'm here now, back at writing and loving it. The con was simply great, I got third place in the costume competition, but was without a doubt the audience's favorite, so I'm happy. I don't think I've felt so popular in my life as I felt at that con. Everyone knew me, everyone was cheering for me. I'm telling you, that was the most wonderful feeling I've ever felt and it's so very the opposite of what I've been used to. The guests were great, Scotland is pretty and the people (both the Scots and the rest) are very friendly. Btw Afke, now that I know you are reading, you better give me some reviews ;) And I've booked myself a ticket for a con in October, where I'll see Sean again (sigh), talk about gorgeous! I can't wait, but before that happens I will have a lot of things happening. In this fic especially :) I wonder how far into the story I'll have gotten by October.

AN2: As always, major thanks to Steph, esp with how she understood the haste with getting this chapter done and doing the betaing right away.

**Severien** - Looks like we're both graduating in June, but I won't be free, I will be going straight into work (if I can find some). It's gonna be weird not having as much time off anymore, but I'll adjust.

**LLfreak** - I'll have to wait and see about that story, I too have big problems with cheating, esp when someone cheats on someone who definitely doesn't deserve it. I liked both Max and Alex. They were nice.

**smileyGGfan** - My first name is Guro (really hope I have no japaneese readers, cause if I have they would've died of shock or laughter from reading that). Glad to hear you liked my little gestures. lol, yeah the Lorelai/Michel hug in that episode was great, esp how they both were like 'never again?' 'thank God' about it :P

**bloodymary2** - I love long reviews in the moring. Never apologise for long reviews or for ranting. I love reading them. And thank you so much for the support on my choice to incorporate my storyline into the show. It's very nice whenever someone appreciates it. I have one minor request to you, please do not call Lorelai 'Lor' as it gives me too many Chris-flashbacks. I hate it with all my passion. Also show-wise, the storyline in season 6 was all Amy, but she's not the one who's been giving us the current crap season we've gotten, that is the new show-runner Dave's doing. He makes me miss Amy. William's birth certificate says Gilmore, but I can already promise that's not written in stone. I passed on your thanks on to Steph and she told me to tell you thanks and how happy she was to get some praise :)

**Alexia** - When it really matters, Luke doesn't really care what people see. For me at least it makes perfect sense that he would do whatever he could to comfort Lorelai, be it a hug or some other gesture. As for Richard and the diaper thing. Although he has a lot of Emily's snob tendensies, he also doesn't seem afraid of getting his hands dirty. We all saw the whole car-thing. And he's felt connected to William since the beginning, so it makes sense to me that he'd want to be involved in every aspect of his grandson's life.

* * *

Luke had only turned away for a couple of seconds as he'd heard the knock on the door, but in that time William had rolled from his position by the baby gym to underneath the desk, where he'd found one of the toys that probably had been left behind the last time he'd stayed there. Lorelai hadn't been kidding when she said that William had really gotten the hang of this whole rolling thing. Once he'd figured out how to roll onto his back from his stomach, it seemed like it had dawned on the baby the potential this new skill had. At least William appeared very calculated in where he rolled, like he eyed a toy or something else of interest and then maneuvered himself to reach it. Of course once he tired of that particular toy he was stuck wherever he'd ended up as he'd only learned how to roll in one direction.

Safe to say, Luke had spent most of the day fishing him out from underneath the kitchen table, from underneath the bed, from various corners of the room. Never before had he been so glad he decided to babyproof the apartment, anticipating the day William would begin crawling and develop a fascination with cupboards and plugs.

As Luke got down on all fours, once again to retrieve the baby from his latest hideout, he wasn't surprised when the door opened without there being a second knock. Truth be told he was surprised she'd knocked in the first place. Lorelai wasn't exactly the most patient person he knew, a trait William definitely had inherited from her. The baby let out a cry of dissatisfaction as he'd still not been fished out from the dark corner that was the desk.

- Do I wanna ask or should I just shut up and enjoy the view, he heard Lorelai chuckle in the background.

- I'd ask the latter, he replied, as he gently slid his hands underneath the boy, retrieving him from his current position. - But then again, I know you far too well to even think you'd do anything I ask unless it coincides with whatever you were originally intending to do, and even then you often do the opposite just to spite me, so I'm not even gonna bother.

- Hey, I've listened to you several times, she objected.

Luke stopped what he was doing midway just to turn and look at her, anticipating an example.

- None of them comes to mind right away, she acknowledged with a slight grin. - But they will and then when they do I will be coming right here, just to go 'hah, I told you so'.

- Looking forward to it, he chuckled, turning back to his task of retrieving the impatient infant from underneath the desk.

- I'm serious, she insisted. - It may happen at three in the morning. But I won't care, I will come right here, wake you up, just so I can tell you in person.

- Or you could just pick up the phone and tell me, Luke pointed out. - Much more efficient.

- Not nearly as much fun, Lorelai shrugged it off. - And then afterwards I'm gonna drag you downstairs and make me coffee before I go, cause otherwise I'll never make it back and you might as well go ahead and throw me into Gran's casket.

Luke was glad to hear her return to her old self after having seen her run all over the place trying to organize her grandmother's funeral by herself. He hadn't caught much of the story behind why she'd been left with the sole responsibility for the thing, when he came by to check on her, as she'd already been buried in piles of papers and only had the energy to give him a jumbled cliff's notes version of it. The only thing he'd made out of it had been something about a letter, her mother freaking out and toes for some reason, he had yet to ask the specifics. The other reason he hadn't caught much of the reason behind it, had been that after Lorelai had finished panicking about the events leading up to her not just agreeing to help out with the funeral, like she'd mentioned the day she'd gotten the call, she had gone into full panic mode about every other responsibility she had.

Even after her schedule was cleared with Sookie and Michel looking after the inn and Jenna allowing her time off work, that still only left her and Rory to finish the million detailed instructions the deceased had left behind and there was only so much Rory could take on with classes and the paper. Luke had of course offered to do more than just watching William for her, but as Lorelai had predicted and Luke soon after discovered, William's newly developed skill had made watching the infant into pretty much a fulltime job. Luke finding himself on all fours to retrieve the baby from yet another tricky location was evidence of just that.

- And he's out, Luke announced as he got up from the floor, with the baby in his arms.

- Aoh, William instantly replied.

- That's right, Luke chuckled, as if the baby's reply had made any sense.

Aside from the boy's latest physical development, Luke had also noticed William's new love of exploring various vowels, mainly in more quiet places like Lorelai's house or his apartment. The diner was always more or less of a bustle, which furthermore triggered William's curiosity for watching the people around him rather than his vocal abilities.

- Look, Luke told the boy in a soft voice, noticing Lorelai's amused look as she observed their interaction. - Mommy's here. You want your mommy?

He wasn't generally a big fan of saying the word 'mommy' in conversations, but he knew Lorelai probably rather wanted William to know her as 'mommy' than 'mom', at least in the first few years. There had been times where he'd even heard Rory calling Lorelai 'mommy', most often whenever the girl was in extra need of some sort of comfort. And every single time it'd happened he'd noticed Lorelai lighting up at hearing it. So even though Luke felt silly for saying 'mommy', he was determined to make sure William knew Lorelai as exactly that.

- Eh, William simply uttered, his big baby blues focused on Luke.

It was said in kinda a questioning way, which made Lorelai laugh, but the minute the boy turned his head towards the sound and saw his mother, his face lit up and he stretched his arms out towards her to express that he wanted her to pick him up, which Lorelai did gladly.

- Hey baby, she cooed, placing a kiss on her son's temple. - Did you have fun? Mommy really missed you today, did you know that?

- Mmm, William replied, busily sucking on his thumb.

- He gets along with his A's and M's, Lorelai told Luke. - Would it be too much to ask that he'll at some point put two and two together and say 'mama' or just 'ma'. Or just have an A-sound follow a really long M-sound, I'm not picky.

She turned her focus to her baby.

- Can you say 'mama', she asked him.

William, having obviously tired his limited vocabulary gave no response as he was too occupied with his thumb to care about his mother's attempt at getting him to speak. Luke chuckled when he saw Lorelai pouting as a result of the baby not responding.

- You want some coffee, he asked.

Normally he didn't have coffee anywhere else but the diner. There was no reason for it, as he never drank the poison, but knowing Lorelai would come by and knowing she would come directly from a funeral and thereby need some sort of pick-me-up, he'd taken a bag with him back up, when he went down to check on the diner during William's nap.

- That's a rhetorical question, right, she responded, brows raised.

Luke chuckled and pulled out a chair for her at the table and went over to the stove to put the kettle on. Normally he made coffee with a coffee maker, but that didn't mean he didn't know how to do it the old fashioned way. Both his mother and father had been fond of the liquid and as he'd made his father's meals when he got sick, he'd also made the coffee, secretly hoping his father would one day see the light and switch to tea instead. However making coffee the old fashioned way with the medium grind coffee that usually was used in coffee makers was not the easiest in the world as the strainer didn't catch everything it was supposed to. Luke even ran the coffee through twice before pouring Lorelai a cup. With the way babies and hot beverages never got along well, Lorelai made sure to hand William over to Luke before taking a sip. If there were any grains left after Luke's thorough attempts on filtering it twice, she didn't say it. In fact, she didn't say anything, just licked her lips and took another sip.

- How was the funeral, he asked, breaking the silence.

- Well, when we finally got there it was good, she said, then pausing slightly. - Or as good as funerals go, but you get my drift. At least dad didn't fall apart when he made the speech and I'd talked mom out of wearing her robe to the thing. And apparently I am now the reigning Lorelai Gilmore. It's mostly ceremonial stuff now; declaring knighthoods, opening supermarkets, that sort of thing. But I'll get a cape and crown and pose for stamps.

- Of course, Luke nodded, playing along. - You can't be queen without having your own stamps.

- And my stamps will be way more popular, Lorelai grinned. - A least more popular than the ones of the British Royal family. Well, maybe not Diana, unless she doesn't have stamps. Is it enough to marry into the Royal family to get stamps or do you have to be born into it? Is there maybe a stamp clause in the prenup?

Luke simply shook his head as Lorelai delved into yet another insane musing about completely useless and irrelevant subjects. Finishing her trail of thought she simply grinned at him and took another sip of her coffee.

- What was that part about your mom and a robe, he asked, remembering the few things she mentioned before going off on a tangent.

He couldn't really picture the scenario. From the little impression he'd gotten from Emily Gilmore the few times he'd seen her was that she put a great deal of effort into being presentable at all times. He'd always had the feeling that she thought ordinary things like robes to be beneath her.

- Yes, Lorelai nodded. - One of the many new, exciting things I've learned about my family these past few days is that we too at times are a robe family.

- What were the other things, Luke asked, slightly intrigued.

- Well, Lorelai sighed, drawing the word out for God knows what reason. - I've learned that the most vicious cruelty, the kind that would make Hitler look almost human, runs in my genes. I've learned that I am lucky a double-jointed thumb is all I have to show for my family's inbreeding.

- What, Luke asked, shocked. - You don't mean...

- God no, Lorelai shuddered, realizing what she'd made it sound like. - Thankfully my parents were complete strangers until mom decided to steal dad away from his girlfriend. No, yesterday I finally got to know that my grandma and grandpa were second cousins and even worse that it was in fact common for prominent families to 'keep the bloodline's close'. I don't know what creeps me out the most, knowing for a fact that my grandparents were related or knowing that they might not have been the only ones.

- Well, Luke shrugged. - Look at the bright side. You turned out ok.

- What if this is the kinda thing that skips a generation, Lorelai asked.

- Seeing as this were your grandparents and you turned out fine, I seriously doubt it, Luke reasoned.

- But what if it skipped two generations?

- Rory turned out fine, too.

- But William's not even five months old yet, Lorelai pointed out. - We don't know how much this might've infected his perfect little body. He could've inherited all these weird genetic mutations and we wouldn't know until he got older.

- He's fine, Luke assured her.

- What if he has an extra toe, Lorelai asked. - That could throw him off balance when he starts walking and then the other kids will make fun of him.

- Haven't you already counted his toes?

- Well, yeah, Lorelai sighed. - But what if I miscounted or if extra toes are like teeth and comes out later.

- Now, this conversation is getting a bit too silly for me, Luke commented, dryly.

- Oah, William chimed in, having lost all interest in his thumb a couple of minutes back.

- See, Luke asked. - He agrees with me.

- Ganging up on me, are we, she joked in that soft voice she always used on William.

Squealing, William eagerly kicked around with his tiny legs, stretching his arms out towards his mother, who instantly accepted him from Luke. Catching a yawn coming from the baby, Lorelai looked up at the clock, taking in what time it was.

- Oh wow, she remarked. - I had no idea it was this late.

Not having had the time to check the clock in a while, Luke hadn't noticed how late it was either, as he'd been a bit preoccupied with figuring out where William rolled off to the whole time the baby'd been on the floor.

- I should go home, she told him. - Get this little guy into bed.

- Sure, Luke nodded, understandingly.

The one good thing about William's new activity was how little time they needed to pack up his things as Luke hadn't needed to take out that many toys and had already rinsed and washed the bottles he'd used. It took them less than five minutes to assemble everything and another five to get William dressed and ready.

- Thank you again for doing this, she told him as he handed her the baby, all dressed and ready.

- No problem, he told her, watching her leave.

Lorelai turned around in the doorway.

- Hey, Luke, she asked. - As I was coming up here I couldn't help but notice something. That high chair in the corner there. Tell me if I'm imagining things or not, but that chair wasn't there a couple of days ago, right?

- I walked by the baby store a couple of days ago and I saw it on sale, Luke shrugged, not really meeting her gaze. - And I thought about how William is getting older and how that baby bouncer isn't gonna hold him forever that it would be a good idea if the diner had a high chair. You know, since you come in every day.

He continued to study his feet for a couple of more seconds, then he looked up to find her grinning.

- Funny how you always seem to know whenever there's a sale, she remarked, before turning around and leaving.

TBC


	78. Potty Shed Gazette

AN: So, I got a fun invitation in the mail this week, someone invited me to join and try out this new fanfic archive before it's released for the public. So I went and accepted the invitation and I've gotta say I love it. It's called Fanlib dot com. It might take a little bit to get used to, but once you learn to use it properly and they implements the suggestions we've come with, I think you'll really like it. My author nick over there is "misskitten". And yay, completely random, but Easter break starts the day after tomorow, so I'll be heading home to see my mommy and the two of us are gonna enjoy GG season 5 together. We are both looking forward to that!

AN 2: As usual, many thanks to Steph, who was nice enough to beta this right away so I could update today.

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - I _was_ beginning to wonder where you were. Thanks for ending my worries. I'm happy you're back and sad cause you only had time to read two chapters, but you'll catch up eventually. A,B&C has happened to me before, September last year, anyone? lol, I think in Gilmore-verse almost 16 means 16... lol, remember Rory's age at the beginning of the show:P And the talk will come ;)

**rollsdownhill** - No, for me "draw out" isn't really a positive phrase, but I get what you're saying :)

**smileyGGfan** - You made a slight missunderstanding here, cause "guru" is the word for someone who knows all, Guro is a lot of things, but not that. And a "beta" is someone who checks my story for spelling, grammar and generally gives me a notice if there are passages I should rewrite...etc... And OMG the "clocking" thing, I now officially hate word-replace features, cause it was supposed to be "watching", but then I had changed "watch" to "clock"... Man, I'm going back to change that... lol... ok, it's changed. I'm definitely gonna be careful with that word-replacement thing from now on.

**cywen69** - "con" is short for "convention", which in this case a gathering for fans of a certain fandom to hang out and enjoy each other's company, while at the same time meet some of the people from the show. So far I've attended cons for Buffy, Angel and Firefly. I've gotten to meet many great people, both from the main cast, supporting cast and people with minor roles, as well as a couple behind the scenes people. It's a lot of fun and I love them. I'm only sad there's nothing like this for GG. The one GG encounter I have was merely a result of luck, nothing else.

**Afke** - Glad to see you got back safely. I had a great time hanging with you and will be seeing you in October :) And very nice to see you reviewing. Will I be expecting more reviews from you? I'm very glad the baby's development is satisfying :) And spinning rooms are very bad, get some rest!

* * *

- Mom, do we have any sunblock, Rory yelled, as she exited the bathroom from a very fruitless hunt.

- _Um_, Lorelai replied from the livingroom. - _Bathroom?_

- I just looked there, Rory pointed out. - What about your bedroom?

- _Um, I dunno, maybe_, Lorelai shrugged. - _If you're gonna look for it, would you let me know if you see my Bangles reunion tour t-shirt?_

- Didn't you lose that like five days after we went to the concert, Rory wanted to know.

- _Well, yeah, why?_

- So, why are you asking me to look for a shirt that's been missing for the past three years, Rory asked, coming down the stairs.

- Calling off the hunt are we, Lorelai observed.

- Yeah, I'll just pick some up on the way, Rory shrugged.

- That's my clever girl, Lorelai beamed.

- Ok, now that we've constated my intelligence, how about we get back to what I was asking you, Rory suggested. - Why have me search for a long lost shirt?

- Cause with the state that room's in, even if I _had_ sunblock in there, you'd still have just as big of a chance to find that shirt first, Lorelai shrugged.

- I take it the cleaning fairies haven't been visiting lately, Rory assumed.

- No, they got mixed up with the mess-up goblins, which have taken up permanent residence in this household.

- That bad, huh, Rory chuckled.

- Between the inn, work and your brother's new fascination of rolling everywhere, there's just no time to keep the mess in check.

- Wait, William's rolling, Rory asked, surprised. - When did this happen? How did I miss this?

- Kid, Lorelai sighed, rolling her eyes. - You _really_ haven't been home, lately, have you?

- Well, yeah, I've had papers and tests and generally been really busy with school, Rory defended herself. - But that didn't prevent you from telling me this over the phone. Besides, we saw each other just last week.

- I'm sorry, Lorelai shrugged. - I guess I was so preoccupied with the funeral and the revelations of our deep, dark family secrets that it must've slipped my mind that I hadn't told you yet.

Rory pouted and looked down at her brother, who was currently lying on the baby mat on the floor in just a tiny white onesie with the words 'mama's boy' written across the chest with a heart on the left side, attempting to taste his toes, wriggling a little from side to side. When his tiny hands failed to hold onto the foot any longer, the baby let out a frustrated squeal and instead began looking around the room for something new to occupy him. Obviously having seen something, the boy rolled off the mat and underneath the table.

- And here we go again, Lorelai remarked, ducking her head under the table to make sure William hadn't found anything that could be considered dangerous. - Okay, just one of his toys. That's good.

- He's fast, Rory remarked. - Was I this fast when I began rolling?

- I don't remember, Lorelai shrugged. - I remember you were more patient. If I gave you a toy, you could occupy yourself for a good fifteen minutes before you got tired of it and wanted another one. Longer if it was a book. This whole reading thing of yours, boy did that start out early. And the writing. When you were about four, you were so obsessed about learning how to read and write that you doodled some things in a textbook and pretended it was writing and then every once in a while you would read _me_ a bedtime story from one of your books.

- Really, Rory asked, raising her brows. - I don't remember that.

- Well, that's because when you were five you moved on to publishing your own newspaper instead, Lorelai informed her, chuckling warmly at the memory.

- Okay, _that_ I do remember, Rory laughed. - What did I call it again?

- The Potting Shed Gazette, Lorelai complied. - You did occasionally call it Potty Shed Gazette, which was kinda unfortunate, especially whenever you said it to a complete stranger. In it, you wrote an then illustrated your own news stories, _badly_ I might add.

- You know, this whole mom thing means you're supposed to encourage me, Rory pointed out. - Not criticize my work.

- Hey, it's not my fault that neither one of us have any creative abilities, Lorelai shrugged, defensively. - You were so cute with that paper. You would make three or four issues before you got tired of replicating it and then you would hand them out to your faithful subscribers which were me, Mia, Sue, the daily manager at the time and whenever you made a fourth issue, you gave it to a random guest at the inn.

- That part I don't remember, Rory laughed, embarrassed.

- My favorite is still your tv broadcasts, Lorelai continued. - You cut out a screen from a cardboard box and then stuck the box onto your head and pretended it was a television set. Then you reported to me and Mia the daily news from every corner of the world. And you'd play every part, anchor woman, reporter, interview subjects, you name it.

- Glad to know that my journalistic aspirations came at an early age.

- Well, Lorelai shrugged. - There was that year where you insisted that you'd become a maid so we could work together, but you quickly dismissed that in favor of becoming Christiane Amanpour. Before your listmaking abilities kicked in you didn't really waste much time in the decision making process.

William decided to interrupt with an annoyed outburst as no one had decided to save him from his current position which was no longer underneath the table, but up against the sofa, right between Lorelai and Rory. Lorelai chuckled and bent down to pick the boy up.

- You know, Lorelai said, balancing William to a sitting position in her lap. - I have a feeling William might be left-handed.

- How come, Rory asked.

- Well, you saw him rolling just now, right?

- Not exactly this last time, but five minutes ago, sure.

- Then you might've noticed in what direction he rolled.

- He rolled to the right, mom.

- Exactly, Lorelai pointed out, as if it was obvious. - When you started rolling, you rolled to the left. It was always to the left, never once to the right. William however, always goes to the right.

- I don't necessarily think one has anything to do with the other, Rory commented, rolling her eyes.

- Well, do you have a better explanation, Lorelai demanded.

- It's probably just random, Rory shrugged. - Maybe whatever was of interest to him that day happened to lie on his right side.

- I still think he's left-handed, Lorelai said, determinedly.

- Well, we'll find out sooner or later, Rory shrugged, not really interested in delving into a larger discussion on the subject. - Hey, did you at least remember to tell Luke about this new rolling thing?

- Of course I told Luke, Lorelai scoffed. - Why? Where are you going with this?

- I'm just checking, that's all, Rory insisted, holding her hands up to shield herself.

- Why this sudden lack of trust in me, Lorelai prodded.

- Well, I just wanted to make sure, Rory said again. - With you, failing to tell your one and only daughter a major life event is a definite sign that all's not right in Whoville.

The latter part was said in a teasing voice.

- Geez, I forget _one_ thing, Lorelai groaned.

William, tired of just sitting in his mother's lap chose that moment to extend his arms towards his big sister, who gladly obliged his request and pulled him onto her lap.

- Great, Lorelai quipped. - Now my kids are ganging up on me.

- Aah, William squealed from his new position, attempting to get a hold of Rory's hair.

- I'm beginning to think that haircut of yours was just a result of forward thinking, Lorelai observed as her boy failed time after time to get a hold of the hair, as it was too short for him to grab. - There's a lot less tugging on it, when the kid can't reach it.

- And now we're getting completely off track, Rory sighed.

- What track, Lorelai said, confused. - I was making an observation. I sometimes do that. It's called being attentive and is often appreciated when interacting with someone. Seriously, what kind of education are you getting at that school of yours?

- You were gonna tell me again that you've told Luke about the latest developments of my brother.

- How many times am I gonna have to tell you this, Lorelai sighed, rolling her eyes. - I told him the day after I saw him do it.

- Why not right away, Rory wanted to know.

- Uh, because it was kinda late, Lorelai pointed out, receiving a pointed look from her daughter. - What? I'm still working myself up to tell him he's a dad. I couldn't exactly call him and say; 'Hey, I know it's late, but guess what; your son just rolled for the first time'. I can just imagine how well that conversation would go.

- You could've said that you were so excited about William rolling for the first time that you needed to tell someone about it and he happened to be the person you called, Rory suggested.

- See, now that could've worked, Lorelai acknowledged. - But, sometimes I'm just not able to think that fast, or clearly for that matter.

- But you told him the next day, Rory concluded.

- I even included a detailed play by play description of the event. It was epic, Lorelai grinned. - I think maybe I was a bard in a previous lifetime, or something.

- Because you have such a gift for poetry, Rory deadpanned.

- Maybe that part got thinned out after being passed down through all my other lifetimes, Lorelai shrugged.

- So, aside from giving Luke epic descriptions of an infant rolling from his front to back, how are you and Luke doing, Rory asked. - Have you guys talked yet?

- What is me telling him about William, Lorelai asked. - Puppet Theater?

- _Mom_, Rory said, calmly, with a pointed look.

- We're still being evasive of the whole thing, Lorelai admitted.

- How is it that you two, the 'it' couple of Stars Hollow, if Stars Hollow ever were to appoint one, can kiss one day and then go... what has it been now, like a month, Rory asked, counting the weeks. - Never mind.., and not even talk about it? How is that possible?

- I don't know, Lorelai shrugged. - I was still a bit confused about the way that kiss ended and then Luke didn't say anything and we've just been avoiding the topic since then. And it's all been a little weird since then.

- Well, one of you have to speak up eventually, Rory pointed out. - You can't go around ignoring it forever.

- Why does that someone have to be me, Lorelai complained.

- Because you two are both very stubborn people and unless Luke is discussing this with someone else, which I don't think he is, only you can get an outsider's perspective on it and unless you swallow your pride and actually follow my advice, you and Luke are gonna be threading carefully in each other's presence for a very long time to come.

Lorelai sighed, slouching her shoulders forward and dropping her gaze to her lap, which was generally a sign of reluctant agreement.

- Seriously, mom, Rory continued. - What are you so afraid of?

- It's just... some part of me just can't help thinking that on some level this all is a reaction to catching Nicole red-handed with another man. I still have the image of Luke giving me a lame-ass excuse and then him walking out the door.

- I thought we already covered this, Rory sighed. - It doesn't matter if he was angry, jealous or anything else for that matter regarding Nicole. Luke would never stoop low enough to use someone just to get even. Luke would never use someone period. And the sooner you tell your inner Iago this, the better. He wouldn't've kissed you if there wasn't something there.

- Can you say that again, Lorelai asked, silently. - Cause I don't think Iago was that attentive.

- Just talk to him, mom, Rory pleaded. - This whole not talking is not going anywhere. And, you know, I'm not Luke.

- And thank God for that, Lorelai remarked, raising her brow. - Cause hon, it'd be a little creepy if you were.

- I'm not Luke, Rory continued, skillfully ignoring her mother's crudeness. - So I can't give you a complete insight in why he reacted like he did, after you guys did what you did.

- Dirty, Lorelai teased.

- Geez mom, Rory exclaimed in disgust. - Spare me the mental images, will you?

Lorelai was about to reply, whether it was a serious reply or another joke, Rory didn't know, as Lorelai was interrupted by the sound of a car honking in the driveway.

- They're here, already, Lorelai asked.

- I said this was a somewhat of a quick decision, Rory shrugged, then realized something. - Oh man, I haven't even packed my bathing suit yet.

- Um, okay, Lorelai shrugged, getting up from the couch and picking William up from Rory's lap. - Then let's go and look for it. How much in a hurry are we?

Having been freed from her brother, Rory got up and walked over to the window, where she saw Paris and Glenn in a full fledged argument.

- I think we have at least some time before she honks again, Rory told her mom.

- Alright, then lets be very efficient. You check the bottom drawer and I will look in your closet, Lorelai said, before taking a slight pause. - You do own a bathing suit, right?

- Of course I do.

- Fine, I just wanted to make sure, cause I can't remember the last time I even saw you in one. Are you sure it'll still fit you?

- Well, I hope so, Rory shrugged. - If worst comes to worse, I will get one there, but I'd prefer if we found it here, so I don't have to.

- Okay, Lorelai nodded. - Let the search commence.

Balancing William against her hip, she used her free hand to take down small beach bags to inspect the content. The infant carefully eyed the things from his position, as if he was planning to divert his mother's attention so he could get his hands on one of them.

- Okay, so while we are looking I'm just gonna go through a couple of quick questions about this whole trip. Like, for instance, who's driving?

- Glenn, Rory replied. - It's his mom's van.

- And Glenn is a good driver, Lorelai wanted to know.

- I don't know, Rory shrugged.

- Kid, I beg of you, please learn how to lie.

- Glenn's a very responsible guy. It'll be fine, Rory assured her.

- And the place you're staying is safe?

- Of course.

- You're catching on, Lorelai grinned, as she extracted a bathing suit from one of the bags. - And I found the suit... and now I just have to find the wimple that goes with it.

- Funny, Rory said, dryly, snatching the suit from her.

- So, you're all set, Lorelai wanted to know.

- Got everything except sun-block, Rory nodded, hearing another honk coming from outside. - And Paris is waiting.

- I thought you said Glenn was driving.

- That may be, Rory shrugged. - But Paris is definitely the one hogging the horn.

- You'll call me a lot while you're there, right, Lorelai asked.

- Mom, the only reason I'm even going to Florida is to enjoy the warmth with a good book. That's it.

- I'm sorry, Lorelai sighed. - But worrying comes with the mom package. And I can't help think about how it's always the good kids who've never had a drink that take one sip of Kahlua and fall out of a window.

- Very well, I'll stay clear of windows, Rory promised.

- And don't drink, Lorelai begged. - And after you're done not drinking, drink tons of water and take two aspirin before you go to bed.

- Duly noted, Rory promised, yet again.

The third honk from outside even sounded impatient.

- Ok, I should get out before they decide to leave without me, Rory told her mom.

Rory grabbed her bags and headed out to meet her friends. As it was chilly outside, but not bitter cold anymore, Lorelai simply zipped the snow suit around William just to make sure he wouldn't get cold while she said goodbye to Rory. When she came out, Rory's bags had been put in the trunk and Rory was simply waiting by the car, next to the guy Lorelai could only assume was Glenn.

- Mom, this is Glenn, Rory introduced them. - Glenn, this is my mom.

- Hi, the guy said with a small wave.

- Hi, Lorelai replied.

- Alright, introductions have now been made, Paris said, annoyingly from the driver's seat. - Can we leave now? We're on a schedule.

- Paris is driving, Lorelai asked.

- Apparently, Rory shrugged.

- I don't know if I should be happy about this or worry, Lorelai commented.

- I'd stick with the first one, Rory pointed out. - It leads to less wrinkles.

- A valid point, Lorelai chuckled.

- Ok, bye, Rory said, giving her mother a hug, before turning to her brother. - Bye William. Take care of mom for me.

- Aaaaooo, William replied, sticking his thumb in his mouth.

- Remember, Lorelai reminded her. - No windows.

- And you remember to talk to Luke before I come back, okay, Rory asked, eyeing her mother carefully.

- Alright, Lorelai promised.

TBC


	79. Late night confessions

AN: Ah, finally I got it done. It's pretty ironic that I'm almost busier when I'm home on holiday than when I'm in school. But then again, I only see my family a couple of times a year, so it should be a given that I'm busy when I get home. But it's been fun. Okay, the part where my four year old niece decided to wake me up after only five hours of sleep was not so fun, though the wake-up call; "auntie, det up" was adorable. I've gotten to show mom season 5 this week and I think it's safe to say that's mom's favorite season. And it was extra fun to show her that this year, first of all cause mom loves LL together and also cause mom at an interval of an episode or two would turn to me when she saw Logan and say "It's so weird that you've met him". Now, if only I could show her Firefly, where I've met 6 out the 9 cast members (and meeting num 7 in October), then we'd be talking reactions here... lol... Anyways, so I have a new fic, don't worry it's not gonna drag me away from this one. It's my entry for the JJ baby-ficathon and when I'm done it will be five chapters plus the prologue. Check it out, you won't regret it, it's called "Scenes in the Gazebo". I will be writing the remaining 4 chapters in between writing CF, so it shouldn't be too long. As always, thanks to Steph for betaing!

AN2: Oh yeah, FanLib has now gone public, so everyone check out fanlib dot com!

**spinningcreation** - Of course I missed you. I miss any reader who goes missing for a little while.

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - I'll try to remember your plea for more Rory/William scenes in the future. I'll have to wait and see what I can do about that. Oh, I know all about the rolling onto the stomach thing, my oldest niece and my cousin's kid used to do that. My niece particularly, cause she had a big cast on and it was extra difficult for her to roll, but she managed. She also learned to crawl WITH the gigantic thing on, then when it was taken off, she suddenly had no idea how to crawl... lol

**smileyGGfan** - No, don't be sorry about the clocking thing. You did me an immense favor by pointing it out. Do not be sorry about that, I mean it! If the direction the baby rolls and if they are right/left-handed is correct, then it's a major coinsidence. Never take any theory the characters come up with as fact, especisally not Lorelai's. lol on the convo.

**Copop** - Well, William is getting to that age when he starts talking gibberish and I thought it was about time to let him have a say in the conversation.

**Alexia** - Do you honestly I'd want to be associated with the show in it's current state if I had? lol

* * *

- What, Luke grumbled, annoyed as Lorelai took a seat by the counter, having not looked up once after she'd entered the place.

- You're very chipper today, Lorelai remarked, looking around the diner, confirming her suspicion of being the only one there besides William, who was still as asleep as he'd been when she put him in the baby bouncer just a minute earlier.

She'd carefully timed her appearance in the diner to not happen when too many of Stars Hollow residents would be there, but she hadn't thought she'd be able to talk to Luke under four eyes, well six if William had been awake, but who wanted to get that technical? Hearing her voice, Luke instantly looked up, a slightly sheepish look appearing on his face as he realized he'd taken whatever annoyance he had on his mind out on her.

- Kirk, she tried.

- What, he asked again, but much softer this time.

- The reason you're Mr. Sunshine, Lorelai elaborated. - Is it because of Kirk? Or did Taylor bug you again?

- No, Luke shook his head. - Well, yeah, but no more than usual.

- Well, unless you expect me to develop mind-reading abilities, which I'm sad to say I have yet to master, Lorelai sighed. - Would you mind so terribly to maybe inform me whatever it is that's put you in such a funk?

- I'm not in a funk, Luke objected. - I'm annoyed, that's it.

- The diner's completely empty, Lorelai pointed out. - That constitutes you being more than just 'annoyed'.

- Yeah well, Luke shrugged. - Kirk was bugging me.

- You said yourself it was no more than usual, Lorelai reminded him.

- Maybe it was more than usual, Luke shrugged. - Whatever.

- No, Lorelai shook her head. - This is beyond anything Kirk could've caused.

- What makes you so sure about that, Luke wanted to know.

- Because first of all, Kirk, even at his very worst, doesn't cause 'funks'...

- I'm not in a funk, Luke insisted.

- Secondly, Lorelai continued, skillfully ignoring Luke's interruption. - If it had been Kirk, you would've told me about it by now.

She looked at him, expectantly, her brow raised.

- I don't want to be in a funk, Luke sighingly admitted.

- Well, who wants to be, Lorelai pointed out. - Except maybe James Brown.

- I went to a lawyer's office today, Luke began telling. - Well, Nicole and I did, actually. Or, we didn't go together, we met up there.

- More divorce stuff, Lorelai asked, surprised. - I thought you guys already took care of that. God knows you spent months on it before you all of a sudden decided to postpone it, I'd think all you had left was dotting the I's and crossing the T's.

- Well, that would've been the plan if I hadn't needed Nicole to give me the papers. We could've had this whole thing taken care of weeks ago if she'd just put aside a couple of minutes from her busy itinerary to get this taken care of, but since this was only a technicality for her, she figured we could do this whenever.

- You're kidding, Lorelai said in disbelief.

- I've been hounding her about this for weeks, literally putting my life on hold, waiting for her to make time to sign a couple of papers, because for some of us, that one signature actually means a damn thing. I've lost count on how many times I've called her, called her office. I've left messages, reminding her that we need to get this over with, so we can both just move on. One time the other guy picked up the phone, now that was fun; apparently she doesn't need the divorce to be final to get on with her life. I shouldn't even be surprise. I was there. I saw her cheating on me with my own eyes. That she decided to continue her affair after we both agree on getting divorced should be a given. I get that she doesn't respect me, that was a given when she decided to cheat in the first place, but honestly, I thought she at least respected herself enough to at least officially end her marriage before moving the other guy into her house... well, our house technically since we haven't officially announced that we're over in the first place!

- Well, Lorelai shrugged. - Maybe she didn't. Maybe he was just over there and happened to be closer to the phone.

- He sounded a bit too comfortable to just be there for a sleepover, Luke said with a pointed look. - And, you know what? I don't even care.

- Obviously, Lorelai muttered. - You can't stop talking about it.

- No, honestly, I don't care, Luke said, a bit more convincingly. - She can do whatever she wants. If she wants to move him in, let her. She can have the house and everything in it. I don't even care about getting my half of the money back. All I've cared about this last month's been getting my freedom back. The only reason I've given a damn about what she's been doing, has been because she still had the papers I needed to sign to finally be done with this thing!

- Okay, Lorelai shrugged. - I'm not a lawyer here, but couldn't you just get new papers drawn up?

- And risk starting the whole process over again, Luke asked with a raised brow. - I mean, you saw how the whole thing dragged on last time. It just wouldn't end. If I asked for new papers, that's exactly what I'd get...

He sighed.

- If I were to spend one more minute with a lawyer before I die, it would be a minute too soon, he groaned.

- I'm beginning to understand the mood, Lorelai acknowledged.

- Oh, I'm not done, Luke informed her. - So today I got a call from her, telling me one of her clients had to reschedule a meeting or something and that she suddenly finally had time available and if I came right away, we could go and get the divorce over with. Of course she called me right in the middle of the lunch rush and I have to give Ceasar and Lane, who wasn't even supposed to come in until later, time and a half to make up for the inconvenience. So I take off and when I get there, let's just say she wasn't alone.

- _No_, Lorelai exclaimed, in shock. - He came with her to get divorced? That's just... I don't know. I think my big question is 'why'.

- Apparently he was there to take her to lunch, Luke shrugged.

- I'm suddenly beginning to understand your funk, she told him, shaking her head at the whole thing.

- Oh, that's not what's bugging me, Luke informed her.

- It's not, Lorelai asked in disbelief. - Luke, honestly, I'm not judging you on this. If I was in your shoes I would be upset, too.

- I'm not upset, Luke insisted. - At least not about that. I mean, if him living with her doesn't upset her, why should a simple lunch date matter?

- Because they were displaying their relationship shamelessly in front of you, Lorelai pointed out. - It's like saying you're insignificant to them.

- Already got that memo, Luke reminded her.

- But it's insensitive, Lorelai insisted. - You just don't do something like that.

- They can do whatever they want, Luke shrugged. - I don't care.

- I'm getting more and more afraid to hear what it is that's actually bothering you, Lorelai pointed out with a raised brow.

- So, while we're waiting to get this over with and he's gone somewhere to get her coffee or whatever, Luke continued. - Nicole and I start talking. I don't know how, but suddenly we're talking about the divorce and she all of a sudden says it's my fault we're getting divorced in the first place.

- Um, did she forget who cheated on who here?

- Well, that's the thing, Luke informed her. - She claims it's still my fault.

- How can it be your fault, when it's her tongue down that other guy's throat, Lorelai wanted to know.

- Because, apparently my not being there drove her to it.

- Come on, Lorelai said, shaking her head.

- No, she made it perfectly clear that she blames _me_ for her infidelity.

- Unbelievable, Lorelai sighed. - I mean, I know I wasn't exactly her biggest fan, but I never thought I'd hate her, either. Luke, I'm so sorry. You really don't deserve that. Is there anything I can do?

- I'm fine, Luke assured her, his voice a lot calmer now. - It felt good to vent a bit.

- Besides, Lorelai shrugged. - You're a free man, now, right?

- Yeah, Luke nodded, smiling slightly. - Hey, would you like some coffee?

- Wouldn't suck, she grinned.

- I'll put on a fresh pot, Luke told her, turning on the coffee maker again.

Lorelai watched him move around in silence, a question burning the tip of her tongue. Luke poured her a cup of coffee and unasked put a plate with a chocolate doughnut on it down in front of her.

- On the house, he told her. - A thank you, for, you know, listening to all my crap just now.

- You're welcome, she muttered.

She glanced over to the table, to make sure William was still asleep. Although he usually had his nap earlier than this, there had been so much hustle and bustle with work and overseeing some things over at the inn, that there had been no putting him down. But eventually, as Lorelai made her way towards the diner, William had fallen asleep out of sheer exhaustion. The boy sighed in his sleep before taking on a different posture, his thumb loosely planted in his mouth. Satisfied, she turned her attention back to her food and Luke. She sipped her coffee and took a bite out of her doughnut, the question still very much consuming all of her thoughts.

- Luke, she finally said.

- Yeah?

- I feel stupid for asking you this, but I really need to know.

- Know what, he asked, confused.

- You kissing me, she began. - That wasn't just to get back at Nicole, right?

- What, he asked, not really angry, more like surprised. - Lorelai, come on. You know I wouldn't stoop that low, right?

- No, I don't know, Luke, Lorelai replied in full honesty. - You were hung over, upset about Nicole and I just happened to be there. You kissed me, Luke, and then you just ran out of there, mumbling some half-ass excuse about the diner, before I had time to react at all. What am I supposed to think?

Luke sighed and walked around the counter, taking a seat at the stool right next to hers. Lorelai didn't move, nor did she protest when Luke took her hands in his.

- The farthest thing from my mind when I kissed you was Nicole, he told her, looking into her eyes.

- Then what was with the sudden need to bail, Lorelai asked.

- Because I'm not that guy who just takes the ring off and starts something new, knowing very well the divorce papers haven't been signed yet, Luke explained. - It doesn't matter how much of a technicality the actual signature is. This isn't an affair; you're not the other woman. I need this to start the right way. I need 'us' to start the right way.

At the mention of the word 'us', Lorelai's world stopped, as though someone had just walked in and froze everyone and everything, except her. Or maybe she was the one frozen, but didn't realize it. Maybe people were walking by right now, pointing at the Lorelai and Luke-shaped mannequins that were sitting in the diner. Or could it be that the world outside stood still also, holding its breath for Lorelai to reply?

- And the whole bailing thing, Luke continued, oblivious to the time-freeze. - I don't know why I did that. I just got this urge to get out of there and before I knew it I was halfway to the diner and I felt too much like an idiot in the first place to just turn around and go back. Then again I broke a car-window the night before so in the strictest sense that really should qualify as my dumbest move of the week.

- So, she finally said, having completely failed to listen to anything he said after the word 'us' escaped his lips. - 'Us', huh?

The intensity of the moment made Luke turn his eyes slightly away, as if he suddenly decided to count how many salt and pepper shakers he had displayed on the tables around the diner or anything else for that matter, just so he could have something else to do than meet her curious gaze.

- Yeah well, he shrugged, a small smile slowly creeping upon his face. - That's if you want.

She felt slightly silly where she was sitting. Judging by their behaviour alone one would think they were kids in kindergarten experiencing their first puppy love and not two adults in their mid to late thirties contemplating entering a serious relationship with one another. Lorelai found herself smiling shyly at Luke, feeling like an idiot at the same time for her sudden laconic state. So she did the only thing she could think of that would make up for her missing vocal abilities, she leaned forward and kissed him.

- I'm in, she whispered, once she regained her ability to speak.

Luke let out a breath, as if he'd been holding it the whole time, while waiting for her to come to her verdict.

- Good, he replied.

TBC


	80. Smile for the camera

AN: Wow, review-o-rama, that's always a plus. Also it helps inspire me. I've definitely reached a part of my story that I've been looking forward to writing for a good while now :) As always, Steph, my trusty beta, you're an angel :) 

**cywen69** - Yes, he should've said something, but it's not about what they should do, it's about what they actually do. 

**SG-Fan** - Wow, that's a high compliment, I thank you for it :) 

**bloodymary2** - Biiig smile on my face right now. Thank you for your promise and in return I promise to stay clear of walls, though I got a conk from the luggage tray at the airport bus, but my head feels fine now. And you're right about this story being far from over, I wouldn't be surprised if it celebrated it's 2 year anniversary before the words 'The End' make an appearance. And steph isn't as much sneaking a peek at my reviews as much as me telling her about the ones that affected me :) 

**Severien** - Not as much an excuse, as more of a timing issue. It's not really something you announce in the diner during the lunch rush. It won't be much longer now, at least not in my definition of time. 

**smileyGGfan** - Yes, that was one of the few times I decided to have a chapter title as spoiling as that one was. I'm usually very specific about them saying something about the chapter, but not spoil anyone who's not gotten that far in the story. As far as Nicole goes, I could just envision something like that happening. Feel free to kick her car if you want, I'm at least done with her (I'm pretty sure I'll get a lot of 'yay's on that one). 

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - I don't celebrate Easter in any religious aspect. In Norway we get a week off for Easter and I spend that week with family and friends. Norway also has this tradition with showing crime/detectve shows around Easter. I'm not kidding, check out Easter on Wikipedia and you will see that Norway has it's own paragraph just about our weird traditions. Sadly they didn't air any Poirot this year. They didn't last year either, which bugs me, cause I love Poirot. I collect the show :P 

**delen2000** - Once you've hidden something this long, it's really, really easy to continue. But don't fret, it won't be too long.

* * *

Luke had just finished wiping the tables and the counter, preparing for the usual post town meeting crowd, when he saw the doors to Miss Patty's open and Lorelai amongst the first ones out. She was holding one hand up to her ear and William with the other. It was a bit too far away to tell, but he assumed she was on the phone. She lingered in the area while several others moved towards the diner. As the place filled up, Luke got little time to watch her, but every now and then he glanced up to see her still on the phone, though she'd slowly begun moving in his direction. 

Some of his customers had even begun leaving when Lorelai finally hung up and entered the establishment. She wore a robotic, kinda tired expression on her face as she dropped William off in the bouncer before plopping onto the chair next to it. She didn't even seem to register him coming up to the table as she was just staring at the wall. 

- Rough day, he asked. 

Her response to his question was leaning forward, resting her head on the table. 

- That bad, huh, he remarked, filling a cup with coffee, placing it directly in front of her nostrils. 

Lorelai said something, but her reluctance to lift her head even a little, made her response completely incoherent. 

- Say that again, Luke requested. 

Lorelai slid both her arms onto the table, resting her chin on top of them. 

- Mom just called and informed me she wants to have a new family portrait taken to replace the one they have over the mantle. 

- That's it, Luke asked, surprised, having expected something dire. 

- What'd you mean 'that's it', Lorelai asked, sitting back up. 

- Well, you come in here acting like the world is going under any second, Luke pointed out. 

- And you're going where with this? 

- So, I was expecting something a little graver than a photo session, Luke told her. - Frankly, I don't understand what's so bad about it. It's a nice thing. 

- The concept of a family photo is nice, Lorelai explained. - The reality of it at the Gilmore estate, however, is not. We're not talking walk in, smile pretty, snap, snap, here's your photo. Whenever Emily's involved, you can bet your ass it's crinoline dresses, Armani suits, ties and that's on top of the ridiculous setting with thrones and swans. We're talking smiling pretty, but not too much. There's dress rehearsals, light rehearsals and God knows what else. It's as if we're shooting the center fold of a magazine. Already there's a million ways this thing can go wrong and I haven't even included the fact that William's only a five month old baby. If this picture had been me, mom, dad and Rory, it would've been something else. It'd still be a pain, but we'd get through it. But William... You can't tell a five month old to sit still and smile pretty for the camera. You can't get a five month old to sit still period. A regular photo session is tiring enough for him, but mom won't hear it. I guess I should just be grateful she's not insisting on an oil portrait while she's at it. 

For a moment while Lorelai caught her breath, Luke was just staring at her, tying his best to absorb all the information she'd just given him. 

- Okay, he finally replied. - I'm beginning to see what you mean, but maybe it won't be so bad this time. 

- Did you not hear me just now, Lorelai asked in disbelief. - It's gonna be a nightmare. 

- Maybe that's because you're expecting a nightmare, Luke said, rationally. - Maybe you should just try talking to your mom, get her to lessen her demands. 

- I just did, Lorelai sighed. - I tried explaining to her that this whole set-up she's thinking is too much for William to handle, but she's turned her deaf ear at me. I tried negotiating with her, by suggesting I could take William to a studio when I get the chance and have a portrait of him taken there to give to them, but she didn't want to hear that, either. She said that it's a waste of money going to some crap-shot studio, when she's already hired the best photographer in the state. She simply refuse to listen. And with William brewing on something, I can just imagine what a swell evening we'll end up having. 

- He's sick, Luke asked, concerned. 

- Not at the moment, Lorelai shook her head. - But he's definitely getting a bit iffy. Nothing specific, but he's a bit more tired and cranky than usual. There's no fever or anything, I've checked several times. I've done my best and put thicker socks on him and covered his head and neck, but there's only so much I can do. He's not actually sick yet, so I can't just call in sick at work, either, especially not now when I'm helping to train the maid who's taking over for me when I leave. 

- I could take him, Luke offered. 

- You have the diner, Lorelai pointed out. 

- I could get Lane and Ceasar to cover the diner, Luke suggested. 

- That's really sweet, Luke, Lorelai acknowledged. - But we can't do that every time William might be getting sick. And we shouldn't either. As bad as this may sound to you, we need to let William get sick once in a while so his body can build up his natural immune system. The more he gets over with now, the less sick he'll be when he starts daycare. 

- Daycare, Luke asked. 

- Yeah, Lorelai nodded. - Rory caught about everything there was to catch her first year there, every other week there was something new, which meant that both of us were constantly having the sniffles. It was awful, so I'm hoping to avoid having that with William. 

- When are you thinking on enrolling him, Luke wondered. 

- I'm hoping to avoid it until he's at least one, that way he'll be less dependent of me for food. I'm saying 'hope' because once we get the Dragonfly up and running I'm looking at having to go beyond the call of duty to make sure it runs smoothly. And even though I'm gonna install a playpin for him to use there, I dunno if it'll be enough or if I have to look into part-time daycare. I really hope I can avoid it, cause being sick and taking care of a sick kid on top of getting a business up and running is really not ideal. 

- If there's anything I can do, just say the word, Luke told her. 

Lorelai didn't get a chance to answer as William began to cry. Luke turned his attention to the boy, trying to figure out what was wrong. It appeared that sometime during his and Lorelai's conversation, the baby had lost his grip on Bunny and the stuffed animal had winded up on the floor. Luke quickly bent down, retrieving it, giving it back to the boy. The cry softened, but didn't subside. In Luke's opinion William seemed out of shape. His eyes were blank and he looked both tired and grumpy. Out of sheer instinct, Luke pressed the back of his hand against the baby's forehead. He seemed warm, but not directly hot and Lorelai had said she'd already checked for a fever several times. 

- Nope, no fever, he agreed with her. 

When he removed his hand, Lorelai picked her son up from his chair, cradling him against her shoulder, gently hushing him in a soft voice. William's cry reduced itself to a soft whimpering. 

- How long's he been like that, Luke asked. 

- I don't know, Lorelai replied, honestly. - Just these last few days he's been a bit out of it. At first I thought it was cause he kept waking one night and that maybe he was just tired cause his sleep got interrupted, it's just been last night and today that I really noticed everything else, today especially. 

She sighed and kissed the boy's head as he put his thumb into his mouth, his eyes halfway closing as he settled in his mother's arms. 

- Oh yeah, she muttered, sarcastically. - Easter's gonna be fun. William will cry through the whole thing, mom will spend half her time nit-picking on what lighting to have, what props to use and the other half telling me to calm him down. 

She let out a frustrated groan. 

- I could really use something to look forward to, she muttered, barely audiable, so Luke guessed she hadn't meant for him to hear her. 

- I might be able to help you with that, he said, boldly. 

He said it quietly enough so the people around him didn't pick up on it, as the last thing he wanted was for his and Lorelai's commencing relationship to fall under the scrutiny of the town's people, which he knew would happen once they caught a whiff of what was happening. 

- Yeah, she asked, following his lead and keeping her voice low, but not low enough to cause the antennas to fly up. 

- Rory coming home for Easter, he enquired. 

- Yeah, Lorelai nodded. - She's got exams coming up, but I twisted her arm on this, so even though she'll be studying for most of it, she's staying the weekend. 

- So, she'll be going back Sunday, Luke concluded. 

- Ok, I love my daughter and everything, Lorelai stated. - But what the hell does her departure date have to do with giving me something to look forward to? 

- I was thinking that Monday, we could maybe do something, Luke shrugged. 

- Dirty, Lorelai teased. 

- I meant like a movie or something, Luke said, rolling his eyes. 

- Why, Luke Danes, are you asking me out, Lorelai mock-gasped. 

- Something to that effect, he shrugged. - You up for it? 

- It would definitely qualify as something to look forward to, she replied with a smile. 

- Yeah, he asked, raising his brows. 

- But I don't know, Lorelai shrugged. - With William not really feeling well, I'm not sure I'd be comfortable having Sookie watching him for a night. Plus Davey might catch it and it just wouldn't be good. 

- Don't worry about it, Luke assured her. 

- But we can plan for later, if you want, she suggested. 

- No, I meant you don't have to worry about getting Sookie to watch him, Luke shrugged. 

- Well, I can't exactly leave him home alone, now, can I, Lorelai challenged him, obviously not catching the drift. 

- I meant I could come over, Luke clarified. - I'll make us dinner, then we can watch a movie or two and just make a night of it. William'll be upstairs sleeping the whole time and we'll be able to hear him in case he needs anything. 

- Yeah? 

- Name the movies and I could pick them up on the way over, maybe even bring some of that junk you and Rory insist on consuming every time you have a movie night, he shrugged. 

- I'm liking this plan of yours better and better, she said, approvingly. 

- Just don't try to make me eat any of it, he warned her. 

- Not even _one_ Red Vine, Lorelai pleaded. 

- Nope, he shook his head. 

- How about pop-corn, Lorelai tried. - It's corn, corn is healthy. 

- It's nothing but air with salt and fat, Luke said, pointedly. 

- What about.., Lorelai began. 

- Name one more item and I will conveniently forget to bring any. 

- Meany, Lorelai pouted. 

- Steering us back to the original topic, Luke said, rolling his eyes. - So, what do you think? Do we have a date? 

- I definitely don't think they'd hang us if we were so bold as to call it a date, she replied, smiling. 

- So, seven work for you, he asked. 

- Seven would be perfect, she smiled. 

TBC 


	81. Easter Mayhem

AN: Many thanks to Steph for not only betaing, but finding that very helpful site about herbal remedies for me. I was just about to give up searching, so thanks again! 

**bloodymary2** - Yeh, sometimes a short bugger slips in, should please you that this one's longer ;) Thank you for trusting me on this, because I don't know how many new ways I can tell people that I am hearing them, but I am not making last minute changes to the plot if they shout loud enough and long enough. Yes, I saw the baby-shower episode. Actually I'm using that scene you're talking about as the beginning of a video called "Tir N'a Noir". You'll find the link in my profile either today or tomorrow, depending on when youtube decides to list it. As for the luggage tray, well, the airport bus here has a several storage luggage tray and I put my bag down at the bottom shelf, so when I got back up, I managed to hit my head on the edge of one of the higher shelves. Yes, on the 25th the one year aniversary for this fic will be up and one week later on the 2nd of May I'm turning 23. 

**smileyGGfan** - Aw man, you just gave away the chapter title, now I'll have to think up a new one ;) And William walking? Whoa, whoa, whoa, he's five months old, he's not exactly walking anytime soon. And yeah, it's gonna be nice to start writing proper dates for them. I've been looking forward to this for ages. 

AN2: Anyone feeling left out of the shoutouts this time, well it's closing in on 3 am here and I have to get up at 7, so it was either keep the shoutouts to a minimum or wait another day.

* * *

Lorelai sunk into the couch, not sure how she'd gotten downstairs as she couldn't remember leaving the upstairs bedroom. If she hadn't been so exhausted, her mind would've probably started spinning on the probability of the existence of a teleporting device that might've explained her sudden relocation to downstairs, however she was simply not in such a state. The last couple of days had been nothing short of rough with William crying in almost all his waking hours which pretty much meant around the clock as neither of them had managed to catch much sleep lately. At most they had managed one to two hours before William woke up and it all started up again. 

She knew from experience and the little common sense that resided in her noggin that she couldn't shield her son from everything, but that didn't make it any easier to carry him around, bouncing him lightly, rubbing his back, shushing him, knowing he was in pain and there was nothing she could do to relieve him off that pain that she wasn't already doing. 

She wasn't really a praying sort of person, having not defined whether she actually believed in a higher power or not. She simply didn't devote time to take on that discussion as she'd rather live for the present, than worry about what might or might not happen at the end. Religious institutions were nice and all, when used for their actual purpose, but she didn't find herself leaning one way or the other. But despite her undecided relationship with the powers that be, thinking about what some parents with seriously sick kids had to go through daily for years and years, Lorelai found herself extremely grateful that she'd only had to deal with common illnesses, bar that one time when she had to take Rory to the emergency room, and she prayed that that was as bad as it would get. 

But even with that in mind, it still didn't make this any easier. Seeing her son cry in pain, it gave her little comfort knowing that it would be over soon enough, because right when it was happening, she wasn't capable of thinking rationally. All that was on her mind was that her baby boy was hurting and she couldn't make it stop. She wasn't capable of taking the pain away. No matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't be sick in his place. Feeling sleep overpowering her, she thought to herself that this was not how she'd expected spending her first few days of 'freedom' after having finally finished her job at the Maiden's Teacup. 

In her delirium she heard a rather loud ringing pierce the silence. Not sure if it was part of a dream or reality, she remained on the couch. A second and much louder ring told her that this was definitely not a dream and she crawled up from the couch, so tired she couldn't see straight. Of course the phone was nowhere to be seen, so she was left having to follow the noise, which lead her to a pile of magazines, toys, you name it. As she freed the phone from its prison, she heard a cry coming from upstairs and she wanted more than anything else to sink together on that spot to cry herself. 

- Hello, she answered, already on her way up the stairs to go see to her baby. 

- _Hi, it's me_, Luke said, as Lorelai opened the bedroom door, making William's crying more noticeable. - _Geez, what's going on over there?_

- Nothing, Lorelai sighed, crossing the room to the crib where the baby was lying. - The phone just kinda woke William up. 

- _Oh, no_, Luke sighed. - _I'm so sorry. God, I feel terrible._

- It's okay, Lorelai assured him, as she bent down to pick William up. - There was no way you could've known. Plus, I should've remembered to turn the volume down. With everything that's been going on, I've just completely forgotten about it. Things are kinda a mess right now. 

She shifted William around in her arms while bouncing him lightly, trying to lull him back to sleep, while balancing the phone between her ear and shoulder. The baby's face was already red from crying, large droplets of tears running down his cheek. He also kept pulling, uncomfortably on his right ear. 

- _What do you mean_, Luke asked, worried. - _Is he sick? Why won't he stop crying?_

- He has an ear infection, Lorelai sighed. - The doctor gave me antibiotics to give him, but he's still in pain and I've given him some pain medicine to help him sleep, but it's wearing off and I can't give him another dose, because he's just a baby. And he's probably hungry and tired. I've tried feeding him, but he just doesn't wanna take it and he's barely slept at all for two days now. And I don't know what more to do. I keep carrying him around hoping I can get him to sleep, but he keeps crying and looking to me to do something. And I'm just... failing him... 

Tears had begun appearing in the corner of her eyes, her breathing was disrupted, her head was pounding and William was still crying desperately. Luke's next few words were the most reassuring ones she'd heard in a while. 

- _I'll be right over_. 

How much time it took before she heard a soft knock on the door, followed by Luke entering, was lost on her. She'd been too preoccupied with calming William down to really notice. And once she'd put him back down in the crib, she'd remained hovering over it, watching him sleep. She felt as though no time had passed, which meant she could've been standing there for just five minutes when Luke came in or it could've been hours. 

- I knocked downstairs as well, he informed her in a low voice. - But I didn't hear anything, so I assumed you were up here. 

He didn't wait for her to reply, nor did he seem to mind her messy existence, from not having had even a moment to think about her personal hygiene, let alone shower. She'd barely had the energy to brush her teeth and run a wet washcloth over her face before crawling into bed, falling asleep before her head hit the pillow. He came up behind her by the crib, running his hands up and down her arms. She closed her eyes and leaned back against his chest, her head resting on his shoulder. He planted a kiss on her shoulder and continued rubbing her arms soothingly. 

Lingering there for a moment, he then slowly guided her away from the crib and out the door. Lorelai smiled when she saw the familiar Luke's take-out bags sitting on the livingroom table. 

- You brought food, she sighed, taking in the sight. - Lots of food. 

- I didn't know if Rory was home yet, he shrugged. - So I thought it'd be best to bring enough for the both of you. 

- Rory's not coming home, Lorelai informed him. - She has finals coming up and well, you heard how it was over the phone. Coming home this weekend would only lead to her missing out on studying, not to mention sleep. Plus whenever I'm not toting him around the house, I'm asleep, so it'd be a complete waste of a weekend. 

She left the comfortable warmth of his arms and slumped down onto the couch. 

- God, I'm hungry, she uttered, grabbing the bag closest to her. - I haven't eaten all day. 

- You want coffee, he asked. 

- Yes, please, she replied, lacking the energy to even form a witty remark about such an obvious answer. 

- I'll be right back, he told her, heading into the kitchen. 

Lorelai searched through the bag to find something to eat. Noticing the salad lying at the very top, she smirked at Luke's sneak attempt to keep her healthy and instead fished out the cheeseburger and onion rings he'd hidden underneath. Luke didn't remark on it when he returned from the kitchen; just put her coffee down on the table in front of her, taking a seat next to her on the couch. 

- What's in the other bag, she asked him, nodding towards the plastic bag sitting on the table next to the two take-out bags. 

- One of mom's old herb remedies that she used to make for Liz and me when we were sick, he replied. - Mostly for Liz. She wasn't too fond of wearing too many clothes, so she always caught colds and I remember she had one period where she had a lot of sore throats, ear infections, the works. Mom always made this remedy and it cleared it up, not right away, but it dubbed the pain and made it more bearable. I thought you could try it on William. 

- Right now I'd try anything, Lorelai told him, honestly. - I'd jump up and down, rubbing my stomach, patting my head at the same time if I thought it would help. 

- Now that would've been a sight, Luke teased her. 

- I'm serious, Lorelai replied, though a small smile appearing on her lips. - I even tried my ear infection song on him, no luck at all. Only reason I even got him to sleep was that he was completely exhausted and couldn't keep his eyes open. 

- You have an ear infection song, Luke asked, confused. 

- Okay, you see, Lorelai began. - When I was about three I had a series of chronic ear infections and apparently nothing worked except this one song they kept playing on the radio, so mom sat by my bed, lulling me to sleep with it. I don't remember any of that, by the way. The searing pain? Yes, but everything else is completely blank for me. Mom filled me in on that part of the story years later, I think it was when Rory was just a baby and we were caught up in a moment of just watching her sleep. It was probably the only true mother/daughter moment mom and I've had, at least from when I can remember. 

She shrugged, taking another bite out of her burger. 

- Ear infections were never a problem with Rory, she continued. - I mean, she caught colds, a runny nose here, a bad cough there. When I enrolled her in daycare she was constantly sick for a year, but I can't remember a single time she had an ear infection. 

- Kids are different, he shrugged, grabbing the bag from the table. 

As he opened it the strong smell of herbs hit her nostrils, making her wrinkle her nose in disgust. She couldn't for the life of her understand how Luke's mother had gotten Liz to willingly take it and couldn't understand how she'd manage giving it to William. It'd been hard enough getting him to accept the antibiotics from her. 

- You use it as an ear wash, Luke explained, as though he'd heard her thoughts. - It won't get rid of the pain completely, but it'll help. 

- Like I said, I'll try anything, Lorelai reminded him. - But seriously, how do you know this? Didn't your mom die when you were just a kid? 

- Mom always knew the recipes by heart, Luke told her. - But when she realized she wasn't gonna be around for much longer she wrote them down, knowing dad was kinda hopeless when it came to what to do when we were sick. She filled out a whole book with remedies, helpful suggestions. Dad kept it with his files, consulting it anytime he was at a loss. He used it a great deal during Liz's teenage years. I'd completely forgotten about it, until you mentioned William being sick. So, I looked for it and it was right where dad used to keep it. 

- Wouldn't you know, Lorelai said, teasingly. - You actually benefited from keeping all of your dad's old stuff. 

Fresh in her memory was how Luke had refused to even throw away as much as the dancing pork chop. Secretly, she liked how important those things were. In a way one could call her envious, as she'd kill to be able to have that kind of a relationship with her own family. Luke responded to her statement by chuckling lightly, nodding his head in acknowledgement. 

The food and coffee had given her some much needed energy and she pondered on snuggling up against him on the couch, letting him hold her for just a little while, when a cry from upstairs put a damper on those plans. Glancing down at the display on the VCR she noticed that William hadn't even managed half an hour this time. 

- I hate hearing him cry like that, she told Luke, who nodded his agreement. - Like there's nothing I can do. He's hungry, but he won't eat, he's tired but he won't sleep... 

Luke didn't say anything, just grabbed the bottle she guessed contained the remedy and headed up the stairs, Lorelai following closely. Entering the bedroom, he temporarily put the bottle down on her nightstand and crossed the room towards the crib. 

- Hey buddy, he told the crying infant, as he picked him up, resting him against his shoulder. 

Lorelai was probably imagining things, due to the extreme exhaustion, but right at that moment she could've sworn that their son's cry decreased just a notch from just hearing his father's voice. For just a moment, just a second or two, she stood still in the doorway observing the two of them interact. William kept pulling at the infected ear, desperately telling his mommy and daddy that he was hurting, looking to the two of them to stop it. 

A large part of her hadn't been surprised when she'd observed what a natural Luke was with William ever since the boy'd been born. She'd always kinda known that underneath the gruff exterior there was a soft and caring heart and having seen him interact with his son these past months, her suspicions had been proven right. But as great as she knew Luke usually was with William, she could tell that he looked kind of squirmish in this particular situation, though she had to give him props for how well he was concealing it. In a way it felt like a comfort that she wasn't the only one feeling like she was lost in the woods, unable to find a clear path. 

Her nostrils still not being used to the strong smell of herbs, she remembered the bottle Luke'd brought and picked it up from the nightstand, handing it to him. Luke sat down on the edge of her bed, shifting William around, so he only needed the one arm to hold the boy. Still crying persistently, though not as intense as it had been right away, it was impossible to hear if the baby objected to the move or not. Luke unscrewed the cork of the bottle, holding the bottle with his free hand, using only his index finger and thumb. The smell intensified five-fold as the cork was removed. 

Either Luke didn't agree that the liquid smelled or he was simply too used to it to care. He gently tilted the bottle, letting a couple of drops hit the opening of the infected ear, pausing, then letting a couple of more follow. First it seemed like the crying worsened as William turned his head uncomfortably, pulling even more on his ear than before. But as a couple of minutes passed, William slowly began to calm down and soon he was just whimpering, floating between waking and sleeping state. Lorelai let out a large sigh of relief, still somewhat in disbelief that it had actually worked. Who would've thought? 

- He's almost asleep, Lorelai noted, amazed. 

- We should probably give him a bottle so he won't wake up right away, Luke concluded, having watched the baby enough times to know. 

- I'll be right back, Lorelai told him, getting up. 

Luke grabbed the sleeve of her arm, stopping her, pulling her back down on the bed beside him. 

- I'll do it, he told her. - You go and have a shower. 

- Is this your subtle way of telling me I smell, Lorelai asked, smiling teasingly. 

- Yes, Luke responded, rolling his eyes. 

She sighed and looked down at her slumbering baby, her strong motherly instincts combined with the last two days' mayhem making her reluctant to leave his side even if it was just for a shower. 

- You don't need two people to give him a bottle, Luke told her, rationally, as if he could sense her reluctance. - Go. 

The only reason she gave in so easily was because she knew both from experience and a very strong gut feeling that William would be in good hands. Also she felt rather icky and the thought of a warm shower sounded like heaven itself. She walked over to the closet, grabbing a clean towel, underwear, the black pajamas bottom she owned that could pass as regular pants and a loose comfortable shirt to change into after the shower. 

Despite the relaxing feeling of warm water running down her body tempting her to draw the shower out, her strong sense of motherly duties made her step out of it just ten minutes after going in. She towel-dried her hair, feeling way too tired to get the blow dryer. She could brave the untamable curls for one night. The fabric of the clean clothes had never felt as soft as they did when she put them on. For a moment she just stood in the middle of the bathroom floor, hugging her arms around her, enjoying the feeling of the fabric against her skin. She ran the towel over her hair one more time before she left the bathroom, crossing the hall to her bedroom. 

Luke stood by the crib, watching William sleep. She spotted a half-full bottle standing on the nightstand and assumed it had been full when Luke had prepared it. He didn't notice her enter the room, until she closed the door behind her. When she did, he went over to her and pulled her into a full body embrace, planting a kiss on her temple. Closing her eyes, she let herself sink into the embrace, resting her head on his shoulder. Luke was gladly her support and swayed gently from side to side as he kept her vertical. From an outsider's point of view it looked as though they were dancing. 

Eventually she separated herself from Luke and walked over to the crib, watching her baby boy sleep calmly for the first time in over two days. It was just something serene over watching an infant steadily breathe in and out. 

- He fell asleep right in the middle of the bottle, Luke informed her in a low voice. 

- He looks so peaceful, Lorelai simply said, not taking her eyes from him, a yawn suddenly overpowering her. 

- You should sit down, he told her. 

- Don't wanna leave the room, she muttered. 

- Okay, Luke nodded. - We won't. 

He lead her over to the bed, urging her to sit down, before walking around it and taking a seat next to her. She snuggled up to him, intending to just sit up next to him, but slowly sunk downwards until her head was resting in his lap. One of his hands was stroking her head, the other was running up and down her upper arm. She couldn't think of a single moment in her life where she'd felt this relaxed and comfortable. 

- I like when you do that, she murmured. 

- Hmm, Luke asked, pausing the hand that was stroking her arms to hear what she was saying. 

- Don't stop, she moaned. 

Luke obliged and started stroking her arm again. 

- Thanks for coming, she told him. 

- You're welcome, Luke replied. 

- That stuff you gave him's amazing, she continued. - Magical. 

- It's just herbs, Luke reminded her. 

- Magic, Lorelai insisted. - You're like Dumbledore, but way hotter. 

- Who, Luke asked, puzzled. 

- Read a book, she replied, no longer able to keep her eyes open for even a moment more. 

- Okay, he humored her, probably very aware that her brain was shutting down as they spoke. 

- Luke, she asked. 

- Hmm? 

Whatever it was she'd intended to ask or tell him was already lost on her, as Luke's voice, his arms, his presence suddenly felt as though he was a thousand miles away and sleep overpowered her. 

TBC 


	82. Movie Night

AN: Ok, so the big job hunt has commenced. I've been to three interviews in two days. On top of that I have apartment hunting and exams to worry about. Let's just hope that one of my problems is resolved soon, so I can get a bit of a breather. I'd originally intended on starting writing this the day after I finished the last one, but real life wouldn't let me. But it's done now :) And how many of you guys saw the latest episode? I loved it, like ep 11 it brought back the real essence of the show, but what made it top episode 11, yes people, I have a new favorite this season; it was how there was no Dopey, LL apologised to each other (and Lorelai initiated it even) and April was great this episode as well. And next week's promo? OMG, I love it! As usual a big shoutout to Steph, my lovely beta :)

**bloodymary2** - I'll let you be ego-centric if you keep writing your lovely, lengthy reviews :) And no, never watched that movie, only heard a couple of people reference it. And I agree with you on the whole not neeting outside complications. That's just the one thing DR doesn't get. LL interraction is far from boring, there's just so much material without resorting to a cheesy soap opera storyline. I really hope he plan on making up for his mess in season 8 (cause we need a season 8). The overly use of the word 'comfort' was just a coincidense, no ulterior meaning on my side. And no, I don't watch GG in my mother tongue. The only things that are dubbed to Norwegian are kids movies. They tried once, just once, to dub a zitcom and it was absolutely horrible, completely unsuccessful, they actually just dubbed 2-3 episodes before airing the show in English... lol. Norwegian culture is very much filled with international influence. I grew up watching a lot of Swedish shows like Pippi Longstockings and Madicken (both Astrid Lindgren creations). I even watched English movies before I had any clue what they were saying. I even insist on reading Harry Potter in English because the Norwegian translations are just horrible.

**YOUR BIGGEST FAN )** - All I'm gonna say is that we're closing in on it.

**smileyGGfan** - I loved that little story, it's always fun when people use the expression Comfort Food :P And no, it was not meant as a comment on the contract negotiations, it was simply part of describing what my theory on Lorelai's religious convictions. Using the chicken pox/mashed potato combo would just be a sign of my lack of original thought. It was never an option, when I decided on things for this chapter. Pass on my congrats to your cousin. Although the experience probably will be very different, you will have your own set of precious memory with the new baby.

**rollsdownhill** - What Lorelai was gonna say has been forgotten already, so we will never know if it was important or just her babbling. And like I said in the PM, considering my own lack of religious conviction I'm really not the right person to give advice on this. From personal experience when I have a story idea I just say you should go for what you want to write, write for yourself and not for who's gonna read the story, because you will find your own set of readers who will appreciate the story. And I get what you're saying about baby-stories. It's so easy to go into two traps, one is to completely forget the baby once it's born, because writing it in would block everything else the author wants to do, the other is to completely focus on the baby either making it cheesy fluffy or gutwrenching angsty. In my opinion you need a combo, because yes, the baby's important, but LL are people too and even though they love their kids, they are gonna need their own time and things as well.

**Cblotnicky** - Um, I'm afraid you missunderstood. I've only been writing on this for a year, I was just saying that I wouldn't be surprised if I was still writing on this for another year.

* * *

Luke felt a bit unsure when he knocked on Lorelai's front door, two Luke's take-out bags in his hands. On one hand it was Monday night, the night they had planned their first date to be on and here he was; seven o'clock on the dot. But with everything that had been going on since then, with William getting sick, the one thing they had forgot to talk about was whether or not the date was even still on, or if they should postpone it until William felt better. But since they hadn't talked about it, he couldn't assume it was postponed, nor could he call her from the diner to check, seeing as the last time he dialed her number he'd woken the boy up. So he opted on showing up, prepared for either scenario.

He'd originally planned to cook for her, but as that could be done on any number of future dates and burgers had the advantage to serve as a comfort meal in case she'd had another rough day, despite all evidence pointing towards William's speedy recovery. Also, he decided to dress comfortable, but still a bit nicer than he normally did. He'd gone back and forth on the cap and decided in the end that a baseball cap probably wasn't appropriate dating attire, no matter the circumstances. He doubted very much that he'd be taking her to a baseball field or any kind of sporting arena anytime soon.

He knocked gently, but firmly on the door, hoping Babette's eyes weren't magnetized to a pair of binoculars, as he just didn't want the commotion that would be the town butting in on something that was between him and Lorelai... and William, who despite his very young age was very capable of displaying like or dislike towards a person. Luke chuckled fondly as he remembered Lorelai's recounting of when Taylor insisted against her objections on greeting the newest addition to the Stars Hollow community at a town meeting, where William proceeded to spit up right as Taylor was holding him up over his face. Never before had Luke regretted attending a town meeting like that day.

The door swung open when he least expected it and together with how astonishing Lorelai looked, Luke was rendered speechless. It wasn't as though he hadn't seen her in similar attires before, as he'd caught a peak now and then on how Lorelai appeared on a date, when she swung by the diner after a bad one or just walked past it. Truth be told her attire could possibly border on casual-nice, like his, so it was surprising how increasingly breathless he felt by just looking at her. Possibly it was because the last couple of times he saw her she'd been severely underdressed with the permanent spit-up stain on the shoulder that just seemed to happen to newly-made parents, whether it was for the first or the umpteenth time they had a baby. Or maybe it was just the knowledge that Lorelai had dressed up just for him.

- You remembered, she grinned, before stepping back, both giving him the opportunity to enter, as well as taking in the full picture. - And you brought food.

- Yeah, he shrugged. - I know I said I was gonna cook, but with everything that was going on I wasn't sure if we were still on, so I thought I'd bring burgers.

He handed her the bags as he stepped into the foyer.

- There's also coffee in there, he informed her with a throaty voice as they had managed to stand within a few inches of each other, their gazes locked on each other.

- My favorite kind of man, she murmured back, nervously biting her lips.

Luke didn't understand how he could feel so nervous at the prospect of kissing her, not when he already not only had kissed her, but she had kissed him back as well. In reality that should take the pressure off, but there he was, struggling to lean forward to kiss her, but also unable to step back and break the spell.

- So, how's William, he heard himself ask.

He heard Lorelai sigh, but he wasn't sure if it was relief over the breaking of the tension or if it was from disappointment.

- He's good, she assured him. - He's been up for most of the day, _not_ crying, I might add. That remedy you made him was a pure miracle cure. His ear's clearing up fine now that he's no longer screaming at the top of his lungs and with the exception of the slight fever and his glassy eyes, he's been on fine form all day. He's even been eating normally.

- That's good, Luke said, relieved, letting out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. - I take it he's asleep.

- Oh yeah, she nodded. - He conked out an hour ago. I just can't get over the way the kid falls asleep sometimes, especially when he's in one of his stubborn moods. It's like one minute he's fighting to stay awake, completely tense, waving his arms all over the place and then suddenly he's as limp as a noodle. Rory never did that, she always kinda solemnly eased into it.

- Well, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, kids are different, Luke pointed out.

- Yeah, Lorelai chuckled. - With Rory I could always count on finding her in the exact same spot every morning when I came to get her. Even after she began rolling and crawling, she always slept kinda motionless. With William it's a whole other story. The night after he figured out how to continuously roll in a chosen direction, I found him sleeping squished up against the bars on the right side of his crib. But that's not half as funny as how I found him this morning, curled up at the foot of the crib, his little legs rested up against the bars. Don't even ask how he managed that, because I think that'll be one of those mysteries that just never will be answered for as long as I live.

She shook her head at the memory and took a big sip off her coffee.

- Well, if you continue to drink that poison, it'll be a considerably shorter one, Luke commented.

Lorelai grinned and took another large sip.

- The less years I'll be sitting alone in a retirement home, completely gaga and drooling into a cup, she shrugged, taking the coffee and the food with her to the livingroom.

- Would it kill you to mix it up with an herbal tea every now and then, Luke wanted to know.

- Yes, Lorelai replied, matter-of-factly.

- Why do I even bother, Luke sighed, asking himself more than asking her.

Obviously getting the rhetorical part of the question, Lorelai didn't answer. Instead she set the bags down and picked up the movie she had lying on the livingroom table.

- Which movie did you choose, Luke asked, curiously.

Lorelai held the light-yellow cover up to her chest, her hands covering most of the title and picture.

- Ah, see, she began with sly smile. - I was very thorough when deciding on our movie tonight. At first I thought about the obvious; Casablanca, I still can't believe you haven't seen that movie yet. But the dedication that such a classic demands doesn't really fit with the whole dating part of the evening, so I quickly dismissed it and started going through some of the other good older movies, slowly moving my focus forward in time until it finally hit me; the perfect first date movie.

She turned the cover over to him, a woman in a yellow dress and a man in a blue-ish suit leaning back against each other, giving each other significant glances, was placed at the middle of it, a faded out park serving as a backdrop for the couple. Luke raised his brows at her.

- So you settled on a chick flick, he asked.

- Excuse me, Lorelai exclaimed with mock-disbelief over his statement. - For your information this movie is _not_ a _chick flick_. It's a classic battle of the sexes when facing each other on the dating field.

- It's a romantic comedy, he argued back. - You put whoever's the new Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan together, give them a completely unrealistic chance encounter and then you cash out. It's the same washed up story used over and over again with minor adjustments. In lack of a better term, it's a chick flick.

- Sleepless in Seattle, she enquired.

- What, Luke asked, confused.

- The Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan movie that gave you such profound insight to the genre, she elaborated, with raised brows. - Was it _Sleepless in Seattle_?

Grinning, when Luke didn't respond, Lorelai eagerly continued.

- It was, wasn't it? Oh My God, you've watched Sleepless in Seattle. Forget the Broccoli thing, _this_ is Luke Danes' big dark secret.

- Well, she's about to marry her fiancé and then suddenly decides that a guy she only hears about on the radio is the one for her and falls in love without even having seen or talked to him or anything, Luke ranted. - And then she goes back to the other guy and then suddenly she agrees to meeting him on the top of the Empire State building. I mean, how can someone relate to that?

- I'm still not getting over the fact that you've watched that movie, Lorelai laughed.

- Liz made me, Luke said, rolling his eyes.

- Oh, next time I see her, I'm so gonna thank her for giving me these lovely images of you enduring a chick flick, she laughed.

- I'll pass it along, he replied, dryly.

- But don't think for a minute that this is gonna let you off from watching this movie, she warned him.

- No, he shook his head. - My quota of seeing one chick flick in my life had already been filled.

- Ah, but then you're in luck, she grinned. - Because this is not any average chick flick.

- Whatever type of chick flick it is, I'm not watching it, Luke stated stubbornly.

- You see, Lorelai continued, completely ignoring Luke's last statement. - Matthew McConaughey has to manage to stay together with the same girl for ten days. Doesn't sound like that big of a problem, I know, but Kate Hudson, the girl of his choice has the exact opposite intentions. She needs him to dump her before those ten days are over, so she can prove her point that the reason so many women get dumped is because of the many annoying quirks they have that makes a guy crazy.

- Come on, Luke argued. - If that was even remotely true I wouldn't even be here.

- Why Luke, Lorelai asked with a sly grin. - Is this your way of telling me you think I'm annoying?

- You know what I mean, Luke told her with a pointed look. - I've known you for eight years and in that time I've seen the best and worst of you. There's just nothing that woman can do that alone would make me run for the hills.

- You really shouldn't underestimate Kate Hudson, Lorelai warned. - And now you really need to see it, because I want to know that if I went as far as she did, would you still want me?

Luke rolled his eyes, but found it wisest to stay quiet, or else she would probably set out to test him. Luckily Lorelai didn't press the matter further and instead went over to the DVD player and put the disc in, then returned, plopping onto the couch right next to him. While waiting for the movie to load, the two opened up the take-out bags he brought and divided the food; cheeseburger and fries to her, turkey burger and salad for him.

As they watched the opening credits, Luke shook his head and cast a glance at her; if this wasn't a chick flick, nothing was. Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to his food. As the movie progressed he began wondering if Lorelai maybe had chosen this particular movie to see if she could trigger a rant from him. He wouldn't really be surprised if that was her only reason behind the choice. This was after all the woman who for two straight years insisted on calling him 'Duke' despite knowing really well what his actual name was, just to drive him crazy. And although she eventually stopped using the dreaded nickname, she continued to test his patience, be it informing him on all of her and Rory's junk food endeavors, knowing very well what his opinion on her destructive diet was, or arguing with him just for the sake of argument.

As he thought back on the many things Lorelai had done to test his patience, he acknowledged that if an outsider were to observe him and Lorelai, said person would probably question why Luke fell for the woman in the first place. And that was something Luke couldn't exactly explain. It wasn't as much as loving her despite the things she did that drove him crazy. If anything those little quirks were part of what made Lorelai the person she was and he really couldn't imagine her any other way. Sure every now and then he caught himself wishing she could shut up for a minute, as any person driven to the brink would. But in reality a quiet Lorelai often indicated that something was bothering her. And truth be told, Luke'd rather endure the many antics of hers that made him want to rip out his own hair, than to see her upset.

He leaned back against the couch, resting the arm that was between them on the back of it, it being the only really comfortable position for him to put it, unintentionally making it seem as he was putting his arm around her. However unintentional it had been, Luke far from minded Lorelai taking the invitation to snuggle up against him. His hand fell down from the sofa back to her shoulder, where he absentmindedly started drawing patterns on her skin with his index finger. Squirming slightly, as she clearly felt ticklish, Lorelai laughingly turned her head around to confront his behavior where their eyes just met, locked and they both forgot why she had turned against him in the first place. His eyes fell to her lips, then were directed back to her eyes and then they turned back to her lips which unexplainably had gotten closer.

Unlike the moment in the foyer, where the tension of the first date aspect had created some sort of barrier between them, neither allowing them to lean in nor break away, this just felt natural and comfortable. He leaned in, pressing his lips softly on hers, pressing her upper lip gently between his own, then moving to do the same with her bottom one. Lorelai's hand instinctively graced his cheek, as she met his kiss. She tilted her head sideways to grant him better access and he ran his tongue alongside her bottom lip, intending to deepen the kiss. Her hand moved from resting at his cheek to the back of his head, pulling him closer. He let his idle hand slip behind her lower back, pressing their bodies together as he continued to explore the shallow depths of her mouth.

In the background Kate Hudson's character pitched the idea for her next article for her boss, thereby setting the first half of plot course for the movie, but neither of them cared to pay any attention to it. The kiss was broken off right about the time Matthew McConaughey's character got roped into the mess by his two scheming co-workers, securing the rest. Lorelai didn't seem to be noticing any of it, as her eyes were completely focused on Luke.

- If you feel like bolting the door's that way, she teased him, lightly, nodding her head in the direction of the foyer. - Just don't slam it, or you'll wake William up.

Luke simply laughed at her comment and placed a soft peck on her lips.

- Shut up, he told her.

- Make me, she challenged.

He gladly kissed her again, the kiss evolving into a heated make-out session, during which Lorelai had ended up halfway sitting in his lap. One of his hands were now hooked around her back, the other stroking the bare skin of her thigh, her skirt having ridden up and settled on the top half of it. The top five buttons of his shirt were now open, allowing Lorelai to run one hand over the top of his chest. In the background the characters were now obviously on a date, Luke noticed the cinema sign saying 'Chick Flick Marathon' and he inwardly chuckled, their pre-movie argument still fresh in his mind.

- Not that I care, he muttered, in between kisses. - But we are kinda missing the movie.

- You obviously never went much to the movies on dates when you were a teen, Lorelai teased. - You never actually watch the movie you go to see.

She placed a soft peck on his lips and whispered.

- Why do you think I picked this movie?

Luke chuckled, throwing an amused glance at the screen.

- Geez, they're even _watching_ Sleepless in Seattle, he commented, rolling his eyes.

Although Lorelai probably had more than a dozen teasing responses to the fact that he'd recognized the movie from just seeing parts of a scene on the screen, she chose not to comment and just threw her head back and laughed wholeheartedly.

- So what's the verdict so far, she asked, when she calmed down.

- On what, he asked, confused.

- If I did what she did, would you still want me, Lorelai enquired.

- I'm still not seeing what it is she does that's so much worse than anything you've already done, Luke shrugged.

- So you wouldn't mind if I got you a pink bathroom mat or a fluffy comforter for your bed, Lorelai asked, as the woman in the movie put her own decorative influence on the guy's bachelor pad. - Or switched your cd collection with an all girl collection?

- What cd collection, he retorted.

They fell silent for the next couple of minutes as they continued watching the movie. Luke still had his arm around her and smiled when he felt Lorelai resting her head on his shoulder. He momentarily slid his arm up to stroke her head a couple of times, messing with her hair before sliding it back down to her waist. Lorelai sighed and snuggled up closer to him.

- Aw geez, he suddenly exclaimed as Kate Hudson's character decided to name the guy's member.

- What if I did that, Lorelai wanted to know.

- If I kissed you, Luke asked. - Would it shut you up?

- Only one way to find out, Lorelai challenged. - But I still want an ans...

Luke broke the sentence off by pulling her in for a kiss. Lorelai involuntarily let out a moan and let him deepen the kiss. The kiss grew to become more passionately and Lorelai shifted around to find a more comfortable position, as her neck was obviously aching from her turning her head far too much to the right. She ended up straddling his hips. He responded by putting both arms around her to hold her up. When they broke the kiss off to catch their breaths, Lorelai rested her forehead against his, smiling, sweetly at first, but soon it became more of a devious smile.

- Does princess Sophia want to come out and play, Lorelai said, mimicking Kate Hudson.

- You're _not_ naming it Princess Sophia, Luke warned her.

- Would you prefer Krull, the warrior king, she asked, teasingly.

- You're not naming anything of mine, he told her, firmly.

- I named everything, she reminded him. - I named your toolbox, Bert.

- You're not naming any bodyparts, Luke insisted.

As Lorelai was on the verge of counter-arguing, they heard a small cry coming from the baby monitor. William was awake.

- Saved by the baby, Luke muttered.

- Don't think this discussion is over, Lorelai warned, as she climbed off him and paused the movie right as the plaid dressed dog peed on the pool table.

- Need me to do anything, he asked, ignoring her last statement.

- Um yeah, she replied. - Would you mind preparing a bottle while I go and get him?

- Sure, no problem, he nodded, heading into the kitchen as she vanished up the stairs.

After testing the temperature of the bottle, he returned to the livingroom, where Lorelai was sitting in the recliner, William lying in her lap, cooing while Lorelai played with his little hands and feet.

- Here, Luke said, handing her the bottle.

- Hey, do you think you could give it to him, she asked. - I _really_ need to go to the bathroom and, well, you know how long this can last.

- Yeah, sure, he nodded, accepting the baby from her, taking her place in the chair.

Although Lorelai had said that William was better, it was a relief to actually see it. The baby drank the content from the bottle eagerly, staring up at Luke the whole time. His eyes were glassy, just as Lorelai had described them and a little red. Luke could also feel the fever, but aside from that, William seemed to be on fine form, complete contrast to his state a few days earlier. He chuckled as he noticed that William made little throaty sounds every time he swallowed. The baby also waved his arms and feet impatiently around as if it was going to help him eat faster. It was very obvious that he was very hungry.

Luke was so caught up with the baby that he hadn't even noticed Lorelai coming back down until he felt her hand stroking his head and shoulder. She took a seat on the edge of the recliner, holding onto the back of it for support. Her free hand she used to stroke the back of William's head.

- Hey, Luke said. - I forgot to ask. How did the photoshoot plans with your mom go?

- Oh, just great, Lorelai replied in a tone that suggested otherwise. - I told mom that we wouldn't come and she took it personal and started complaining about how little she got to see Rory when she was a baby and how I'm so reluctant to let her even have this one thing. Like William being sick was just an excuse I'd made up?

- Geez, Luke said, shaking his head.

- I don't even know why I bother explaining myself to her, Lorelai continued. - She won't accept my excuses anyway. I mean, I even offered to reschedule and she almost bit my head off, telling me how difficult it is to get even an appointment with the photographer she hired and when I suggested finding a different photographer she just got really pleasant. It's like she's forgotten the unpredictability that comes with having a baby.

- Look at the bright side, he offered. - At least William's better.

Sighing, she just put both arms over the back of the chair and Luke's shoulder, resting her head on top.

- Yeah, she muttered.

TBC


	83. Do I have competition?

AN: Okay people, I have an announcement! Drumroll please? And no... it does NOT sound like a helicopter. Comfort Food, my sweet, sweet baby is celebrating its first birthday. Yes, my baby's one... (bawling) they grow up so fast! Okay, more serious voice... okay. Wow, one year... time does go by real fast, doesn't it? It's more than a year ago that this little idea wandered into my head. I think it was right as I was going to bed one night, I just had this vision, this one scene that at the time I didn't think much about, cause I hadn't finished this humor fic series I was working of for Firefly (and still haven't... yes, I'm a bad, bad person) and I had made this strict rule for myself to not start something new until I had finished what I was working on. So I ignored my little vision, so the next night I had a new vision, which coincided with the other one, still I ignored it. But it just kept growing and I just decided to write a summary of the idea, just so I had it for when I finished the other thing. Then as I thought more about it, I came to the conclusion that it would hurt me more to not write while I waited for inspiration for the other fic to come, than to start a new project. So one year ago today I wrote and posted the first chapter of what was to become my largest writing project so far in my life. And we're a long, long way from the end of it, so buckle up, there's still a lot left to tell. An last piece of CF trivia for you; the working title I had for this fic was actually "William", but as it would just give away the plot, I decided instead to keep it a secret for as long as I could.

AN2: Lots of love to my beta, Steph!

**Severien** - Yes, they began showing again last week and I really recommend the episode. You'll love it. It's really great, my new favorite episode of the season.

**smileyGGfan** - Yes, I know. I'm going through similar things as Rory this year, tends to happen when you're just as old as a character... lol. And yes, the naming of the member scene is classic and I knew I had to mention it when I decided on the movie. I don't know if I'll actually have Lorelai name it, but if so, it won't be Ernie. I read a fic where she did that and I won't want to steal anyone else's idea. And I simply love how you guys now are changing your minds. I told ya you wouldn't want me to change the plot :P

**Gymtig** - Watched the global promo. I'm an eager CIP, so I watch all the promo's and the director's cut's :P And I agree with you on the movie. I personally think it's a perfect date movie, cause although it's a "chick flick" guys can enjoy it too. It was the first movie I showed a pal of mine and he completely loved it.

* * *

- _I love you, Luke Danes_, Kirk bellowed across the square. - _I love you_!

Lorelai snickered and shifted William around in her arms. The boy, completely recovered from his ear infection, was babbling incessantly, one hand clutching his beloved 'Bunny', the other was exploring his mother's bushy hair. She stood outside Doose's, observing Luke walking away as Kirk proclaimed his love for him for everybody to hear. This was why she loved this town so much, no matter what kinda day she'd had, she could always count on one or more of its inhabitants to put a smile on her face with their crazy antics.

- _I love you_, Kirk continued to shout. - _I love Luke Danes! Love! Love!_

As he walked away from Kirk, Luke didn't look in any other direction than the diner, otherwise he might've noticed Lorelai watching. Instead of calling out, she sneaked up on him as he was unlocking the door of the diner.

- So, should I be worried about Kirk, she asked, teasingly, making him jump in surprise. - Do I have competition?

- Geez, he responded, rolling his eyes.

- That was very sweet of you, she told him, her tone more serious and genuine. - Helping him out like that? Letting him take the credit? It was very sweet.

- You weren't supposed to see that, Luke sighed.

- Tough, she grinned. - I did.

Knowing no one was watching, she leaned in and planted a kiss on his lips. Luke slid his hand to the back of her head, holding her close for a couple of seconds before pulling away.

- You wanna come in, he asked.

- Sure, she responded, moving to the side, letting him open the door.

Luke locked the door behind them and went straight up to the coffee maker, while Lorelai went and put William down in the bouncer, before searching through her bag to find the pack of baby biscuits she'd bought earlier that day to try out.

- You want coffee, Luke asked, already filling a mug for her.

- Always, she responded, finding what she was searching for and handed the biscuit to her very suspicious baby boy.

Nevertheless William put it in his mouth to test out. He wrinkled his nose as he evaluated it, but he didn't spit it out, which was a good sign. Lorelai walked up to the counter and took a seat at the stool right next to the cash register.

- Hungry, Luke enquired.

Ever since their first date, which was a little over a week ago, Lorelai had taken to stopping by the diner after closing, which in itself was nothing new, as she'd done that more times in the past that she could count on her fingers and toes combined. But these last couple of visits were nothing like any of those times. For one, Luke no longer announced in a gruff voice that he was closed when she walked in, he poured her coffee without her asking, simply anticipating her needs. What also had changed was that he, despite having turned off every appliance and cleaned the grill, asked her if she wanted anything to eat. The more practical thing would've been for him to offer her something to eat upstairs, but for a number of reasons they had an unspoken agreement to stay in the diner for the time being.

It probably didn't make sense, but with the Dragonfly rapidly closing in on it's grand opening, combined with Lorelai taking a couple of days off to tend to her sick child, work had begun piling up and Lorelai had more and more found herself working far into the evening, which basically meant the only time she and Luke even got to really see each other nowadays were these late night visits. Her running in for five minutes to grab some coffee to go simply didn't count. But she could never stay for long. Both she and Luke had to get up early in the morning and coming with him upstairs would just prolong her visits and neither of them really had the time, especially not when Luke had early deliveries. So they stayed downstairs talking for half an hour? An hour? Whatever time they had left in the evening.

- Not really, she responded. - Had a lot to eat at my parents'.

- Yeah, how did that go, Luke asked. - Your mom still mad about the portrait?

- Actually she was a bit too pre-occupied to even remember she was mad at me, Lorelai informed him. - Jason's parents were coming to dinner so mom and dad were running around franticly moving around everything to make the evening perfect. One would've thought they were having the Pope for dinner or something. It was insane. For a minute I thought mom was gonna pull a Bruce Almighty and move the moon.

- Why, Luke asked.

- Why what, Lorelai wondered. - Why they were at dinner or why it was such a big deal?

- Both, Luke shrugged.

- Well they were coming to discuss my dowry, of course, Lorelai said teasingly. - Didn't I tell you I was marrying Jason?

- Funny, Luke said, dryly.

- You want the long story or the short, Lorelai asked him in a more serious tone. - Because if you want all the details we could be here for a while.

- I'll stick to the short, Luke chuckled, making himself some tea.

- Ok, Lorelai nodded. - Well, the short version is that dad used to work for Floyd's company. Floyd's Jason's dad. But now Jason and dad are Floyd's biggest competition and the situation's kinda ugly. Before all this they used to be really good friends, me and Jason even used to go to the same summer camp. So a couple of days ago Floyd came up to them and invited himself to dinner, so to speak and mom and dad took this as a sign that he wanted to make amends, hence they were a bit worked up about making things perfect. They even moved me around a couple of times.

Luke chuckled as he went around the counter, taking a seat at the stool right next to her.

- Did they succeed, he wanted to know.

- Well, Lorelai shrugged. - I could probably start with the good part of the evening.

- Ok, Luke nodded.

- First of all, William was a big hit. You see, with rich people everything's a measuring competition; who has the biggest house, the nicer car, more successful business, not to mention who has the cutest kids and grandkids. The Styles' brought pictures of their grandson, while mom and dad were completely milking having their grandson up on display. And William was a complete angel, he did every cute trick in the book, totally won everyone over. He wasn't too fond of being passed on to strangers, especially not Floyd, but that's where the ear infection card came in handy. They were completely eating out of the palms of his itty bitty hands.

- So what was the bad part, Luke wondered.

- Well, for a long time it all seemed very good, the men went to have a cigar and the women drank Brandy, well I passed and had a Club Soda instead. Rory had left to go back to school before that, so it was just me, mom and Carol talking for a while and suddenly Floyd came out of dad's study with Jason storming after him, yelling about something and then Floyd and Carol left with the announcement that Floyd was suing dad's company.

- So it went really bad, Luke concluded.

- Pretty much, Lorelai nodded.

- What is your dad gonna do?

- Well, Jason said he was gonna take care of that, Lorelai shrugged. - That's about all I know. You could say that's where the evening ended.

- Are you worried, Luke asked her.

- A little, maybe? I mean, despite my estranged relationship with my parents, I don't exactly mean them harm.

- I know, Luke nodded.

- And I know they can take care of themselves, but some of the things Floyd said about dad using his pension as a collateral and how dad wasn't financially set to survive a lengthy legal process, it sounded so serious. I don't know how much mom and dad might lose on this and even though I should be focusing on mom and dad, I can't help but think about Rory. Mom and dad are paying for Yale so she doesn't have to worry about getting a loan. And if this really does go to hell, there's nothing I can do to help her, either. All my money's tied up with the Dragonfly and it's gonna take a while until we're gonna break even on this. And I have William, so...

She stopped herself mid-rant and just shook her head. Luke reached out and took her hand in his, his fingers gently stroking her knuckles.

- I don't know how much this is gonna help, he began. - But from the little I know about your parents, I don't think you have anything to worry about. I really don't think your dad would take a risk that would jeopardize Rory's education. And even if worst came to worst, it wouldn't be the end of the world. I could always help out with Yale.

- I'm not so sure I'd be able to accept, Lorelai said, honestly. - At least with the Dragonfly you were an investor, so it was a business thing, but just this? I'm just not so sure I'd be that comfortable with you putting up so much money.

- Well, it wouldn't be for you to accept, Luke pointed out. - It'd be for Rory.

Lorelai smiled and leaned over to kiss him.

- Thank you, she told him.

- You feel better?

- Much better.

TBC


	84. Return of the prodigal sister

AN: To anyone who might've noticed a new story popping up on my profile, I thought I'd assure you that the "new" fic I'm posting, was completed back in December 2005, so no attention is being taken out of my CF writing, which I think is going really well. I'm finally ahead of updates again :) Moving on to my next topic; the new episode. LL are back and I mean back for real, the whole episode felt like one of the early ones and it felt so wonderful to watch. I never thought DR could pull that off after all the crap he served us before, but my hat's off to him (Don't think I've forgiven you yet, pal. You've got some serious LL groveling to do before that's even a posibillity). And OMG, everything Rory was going through that episode, it was like watching my life on TV. The conversation Lorelai and Rory had while Lorelai was biking, I had that exact same conversation with mom just last week, not just the topic, but the way Lorelai listened to Rory's frantic rant and then just pointed right to the core, mom did the exact same thing with me. So if we nixed the boyfriend and added some tears, Rory would've been me. The whole episode she was pretty channeling my life; friends finding out what to do next, finding new places to stay... And wouldn't you know it. Just now I even found out that a job opportunity I was counting on isn't gonna happen. Get out of my head, DR, it's freaky! And last point on the agenda; Steph, my adorable beta, you rock!

AN2: Okay, I'm now filing a couple of missing people reports here. My prescious novelist reviewers; **smileyGGfan**, **LukeNLorelaifanatic**, **bloodymary2**... where are you guys? It's bad enough when one of you is missing, but when all three of you are gone, well, to put it this way, it sucks! The alerts are working again, so it can't be that you haven't gotten the update alerts. Please come back! I miss you guys!

**Stripe Flavored Toothpaste** - Yes, Lorelai still has the outfit.

**Copop** - Actually the episode was "Tick, tick, boom", but both those episodes were so close together in time, that it doesn't really make that much of a difference.

* * *

As the lunch rush died down, so did the diner. It was more usual for it to empty in mid-morning, but every now and then there was an occurrence of this between lunch and dinner as well and today happened to be one of those days. As Ceasar had to take off right after breakfast to deal with some family situation, Luke had been forced to come downstairs from his unexpected babysitting job and station William in a high chair, equipping him with a couple of those baby biscuits that Lorelai had left behind that morning and a couple of toys. He had halfway expected the baby to at some point object to being left to himself in the corner and asked Lane to look in on him in between taking orders and delivering food, but surprisingly enough William had been on his best behavior the whole time.

Or it would be more correct to say that he at least hadn't cried, as during the lunch hour he had managed to stick soggy pieces of the baby biscuits Luke had given him all over the high chair he was sitting in. When Luke finally came out of the kitchen he found the boy investigating one of the toys, pieces of biscuits and the mashed fruit he'd had for lunch sticking on his cheek, his hair, his clothes. When he saw Luke staring, the boy grinned widely, the toy sticking out between his toothless gums. If Luke hadn't been painfully aware that the boy was only five and a half months old, he could've sworn the boy's smile was a guilty one, like he'd known he wasn't supposed to stick food all over everything in his vicinity.

Normally Luke hated it when people brought kids to the diner, as they always left a huge mess behind, yet here he stood before one of the messier sights he'd seen in a long time and he couldn't even find it in him to be even remotely annoyed. Maybe it was the way William smiled at him or just the way Luke, ever since William had been born, felt close to the boy. It probably helped his mood knowing that not many kids would remain as calm as William had if they'd been dumped in a high chair for over an hour. Luckily Mrs. Cassini, who'd come in for lunch, had really taken to William and kept him company when Luke was unable to leave the kitchen and Lane had too many orders to take and deliveries to make to have time to look in on the baby at Luke's request. She told Lane, who passed it on to Luke that William reminded her of her grandson when he was just a baby. She'd even offered to feed William, when she noticed him getting hungry, which Luke gladly accepted, as the diner was packed and Ceasar was not yet back from his family situation.

As the diner emptied and William was still contently sitting in his chair, occupying himself, Luke decided to wipe over all the tables, but first he fetched a clean wet cloth to clean up the mess that responded to the name of William.

- You sure do love to make a mess, don't you, he asked the baby.

- Umph, William replied, sticking his tongue out as Luke used the cloth to wipe off his face.

Luke shook his head at this odd behavior and decided to just go with it, running the moist cloth over his face a couple of more times to get it all. Then he ran it over the high chair to prevent William from making even more of a mess. He took the rag he had hanging over his shoulder and moved on to wipe off the tables and William returned his attention to his toy. The bell above the door rang as someone came in, Luke looked up halfway expecting to see Lorelai there taking time between one of her many errands to get a cup of coffee, or Kirk coming in to function as a pain in his butt. However, as he glanced towards the door, Luke saw that it was neither.

- What are you doing here, he asked in surprise.

- Look how happy he is to see me, Liz said teasingly, TJ at her side.

- I just didn't expect it, that's all, Luke said, catching her as she launched herself into a hug.

- Oh, my brother, she laughed, releasing her grip on him. - You remember TJ, right?

- I'm still here, TJ announced.

- How're you doing, TJ, Luke asked him, politely.

He was more and more coming around to liking TJ. Well, he may still think the guy wasn't the sharpest knife in the set, but just the mere fact that it's been months since the last time he saw or spoke to them and that he still hadn't gotten a call from Liz to bail her out was a definite positive sign. And Liz really did look happy.

- How am I doing, TJ repeated with a smile. - Huh, Lizzie, I don't know. How am I doing?

- He's doing great, Liz exclaimed happily. - 'Cause we're getting married.

- Married, Luke asked, surprised, but at the same time not so surprised. - Really?

- Yup, Liz nodded. - It's happening right here next week. Well, not right here, right here. We're doing it in the square.

- Wow, that's fast, Luke noted.

- I know, Liz agreed. - But we wanted to do it before the circuit got going so all our friends could come. It's gonna be so beautiful. Just you wait.

- Ever been to a Renaissance wedding, TJ enquired.

- Can't say that I have, Luke told the guy.

- Oh, it's great, TJ insisted. - There's horses, costumes, really big turkey legs. It's a must-see, you're gonna love it.

- I'm sure I will, Luke chuckled.

He halfway expected Liz to throw herself into telling Luke every detail of this wedding, but at that moment, her eyes wandered to William who was still occupying himself in the high chair.

- Oh my God, she exclaimed, making her way over to the high chair. - He's getting so big.

- Yeah, Luke nodded, a weird feeling of almost-fatherly pride taking over him.

William, apparently taking to Liz, reached out his hands, gesturing for her to pick him up, which she did happily.

- Cute kid, TJ remarked. - Yours?

- No, Luke shook his head. - That's Lorelai's kid, William.

- Like the sign outside, TJ pondered.

- William was our dad's name, Liz said, bouncing the baby lightly in her arms. - This used to be his old hardware store before Luke turned it into a diner. I'm sure I told you about it.

- I know that, TJ replied. - I was just asking if the kid's named after'im.

- Probably not, Liz shrugged. - Lorelai never knew our dad, so I doubt it.

Luke simply shrugged. He wasn't really sure why Lorelai had chosen that name. It could be a myriade of reasons. The most likely one was she, due to being under the effects of Demerol, simply picked a name that was on her mind at that point. After all the two of them had talked about Luke's dad a great deal in the time before the birth. It could also have been a token of gratitude for him being there for her or could also be because she liked the name. With Lorelai it was either the most complicated or the simplest explanation that ended up being the correct one.

- Hey Lizzie, TJ suddenly said. - I'm gonna take off and get some beer, you want some?

- That's okay, she replied, paying more attention to William than her husband-to-be. - I'm gonna stay here with these two.

- Ok, sure, I'll see you later, TJ said, making his way towards the door.

- Hey, TJ, Liz called after him. - Remember to tell Luke about the bachelor party.

- Oh, that's right, TJ nodded. - Luke, I'm having a bachelor party this weekend. My brother's coming down and I've got a couple of friends dropping in. It's gonna be a blast and I'd like you to come.

- Um, okay, Luke shrugged. - Sure, I'll come to your bachelor party.

- Great, TJ stated. - I'll be back later.

- Does he even know where to go, Luke asked Liz as TJ went out the door and down the street.

- He's got a nose for these things, Liz shrugged. - He'll be okay. Besides, it's Stars Hollow, make four left turns and you're back where you started.

Luke chuckled as when Liz said it, she made him think about how their mom used to say exactly that about Stars Hollow when they were kids. It was just one of those things that was left behind and the way Liz said it, it was almost exactly how their mom said it all those times.

- So, when did this happen, Luke asked, taking out his rag to finish wiping off the tables.

- Last week, Liz said, happily. - TJ asked me, I said yes, we made a few phone calls and well, here we are, grabbing life by the ping-pongs, as TJ says.

- So it's all under control, huh, Luke chuckled, not believing for one minute that he would be left without his share to do.

- I promise, Luke, Liz said. - You won't have to do a thing.

- I'll believe that when I see it, Luke said, dryly.

- No, really, she insisted. - I have the most gorgeous white dress all ready, we have our Renaissance Fair buddies pitching in, the Scotch egg guy is gonna cater and TJ is writing the vows. It's all taken care of, don't worry. Carrie's gonna be my maid of honor.

- Terrific, Luke groaned, remembering every single time that woman had hit on him, pinched his butt and so on, and so on.

- She's a good friend, Liz insisted.

- To one and all, Luke said, dryly. - Have you told Jess?

- Yeah, I called him right after TJ asked me.

- How'd he take it?

- Ok, I guess, Liz shrugged. - I don't think he's coming, though.

- Why not, Luke asked, not really surprised at Jess not being an eager participant, but shocked that he didn't want to at least pretend to share his mother's happiness.

- He's young, he's busy, Liz shrugged. - But it's okay. I was gonna ask him to give me away at the altar. But maybe you could do it?

- Want me to talk to him, Luke asked her.

- You don't need to, she insisted.

- Well, since you have everything else under control, Luke shrugged. - I suppose I can do this one thing for you. It's your wedding after all.

- My hero, Liz sighed, before wrinkling her nose. - I think someone just filled his diaper.

- Oh, okay, Luke nodded, extending his arms to take the baby from her. - Hand him over.

He carried William upstairs, Liz following closely behind him. Reaching under the sink, he pulled out a clean diaper from the pack he kept in case Lorelai had to leave William with him or had some sort of diaper emergency while changing him in the diner or upstairs. Liz didn't say anything while observing him fetching the things he had on easy access, including a tube of cream in case William had a rash, and put the baby down on a towel he had spread out on the floor.

- Still playing dad, huh, she noted, as Luke expertly removed the dirty diaper, cleaned and applied some of the cream on a minor rash he spotted, then put a clean diaper on in record time.

- I guess, Luke shrugged, not really caring to protest, as he deep down knew she was right.

He buttoned down the onesie and put the pants back on, picking him up. William gurgled happily, reaching out to grab Luke's nose.

- So, how's Lorelai, Liz asked, as Luke disposed of the dirty diaper.

- She's good, Luke nodded. - Actually, she's opening an inn in a couple of weeks, so she had errands to run.

- Hence, you're watching William a lot more, Liz guessed, her eyes hinting at more than that.

- A little bit, Luke shrugged. - But I don't mind.

- And that's all, Liz asked. - Nothing else is going on?

- What are you talking about, Luke wanted to know.

- Well, I heard about you getting a divorce, so I was wondering if maybe there's something else you've been holding out on me.

- How do you know about the divorce, Luke asked, not remembering having even spoken to Liz since the last time she was in town, which was back when he was still married.

- Jess mentioned it when we talked, Liz shrugged. - He told me what Nicole did.

- How no earth does Jess know, Luke asked, then suddenly remembered whose daughter Jess was dating. - Never mind.

- It just slipped out of him when I was asking about you, Liz insisted. - I don't think he meant to tell me.

- It's okay, Luke shrugged.

- He also mentioned something else to me without meaning it, Liz hinted, her brows raised, suggestively.

- Well, Luke sighed, giving in. - Lorelai and I are kinda dating.

- I knew it, Liz exclaimed, excited. - I knew there was something. Last time I was here, I just caught that vibe from both of you and _oh_... I'm so happy for you.

She excitedly pulled Luke in for a hug, being careful enough not to squish William in it. Luke chuckled, his cheeks warming up and his heart beat increasing at the thought that he was now dating Lorelai.

- You should bring her to the wedding, Liz continued.

- Maybe, Luke shrugged. - We'll see. We haven't exactly shared our news with the town yet.

- Well, you don't have to worry about that, Liz insisted. - It'll mostly be just mine and TJ's friends coming in, just a couple from town. I think you'll be alright. Besides, I want to see my future sister in law.

- Don't get carried away, Luke warned her.

- Don't worry, I'm gonna play nice, Liz promised. - I'm sure she'd love to go. Opening a new place sounds stressful, so it'll be good for her to take a break.

- I'll ask her next time I see her, Luke promised.

- Great, Liz exclaimed, hugging her brother again. - Oh hey, are you gonna go all out and dress up?

- Absolutely, Luke said, sarcastically.

- As a minstrel?

- Sure, Luke smiled. - Or, hey, who's the guy who jumps around in bells and a pointy hat?

- The court jester, Liz supplied.

- Yes, the court jester, Luke chuckled. - I will come as a court jester.

- I'm sure Lorelai will love that, Liz laughed.

Luke chuckled. Knowing Lorelai the way he did, she would thoroughly enjoy the vision of him dressing up as a court jester and then she would tease him incessantly for months to follow.

- Hey, Liz asked. - You get any of that terrible peach pie you make? I'm starving.

Luke chuckled.

- You got it.

TBC


	85. From Linda Blair to Carrie

AN: Well, first of all, it's announcement time. As the clock struck midnight here 45 minutes ago, I am now 23 years old. So happy birthday to me. Hope you guys think of me when you watch whatever LL interraction we'regetting this episode. I will be watching it sometime tomorrow (well, today technically). And secondly a shoutout to Steph, as usual. My lovely beta, thank you for putting up with me :)

**smileyGGfan** - I was so happy to see you return to reviewing. Lets just hope the other two will follow in your footsteps soon. About your worry about an ex-lover returning. Do you honestly think that even if an old flame returned that they would stand a chance in hell with either one of them? Give me _some_ credit at least. I got your PM and I did as I was asked. They told me to let you know you are being missed. LOL on the TJ thing. Yeah, he's a very blunt character, so I think that he thinks the same way he speaks, ergo making simple connections between things.

**Spuffyshipper** - No, I don't watch much Supernatural. I've seen a couple of episodes and I think I'll buy the DVD's one day, but I don't follow the show. Actually the only current show I follow is GG, the rest I wait to watch on DVD's. Don't think I agree with you on what Rory would name her kid. Even though she loves her dad, I don't think she would honor him by naming a potential son after him, even if it was just the middle name. I doubt she'd name him after Luke either. I see her as someone who would more look to her favorite books for inspiration.

**Alexia** - No one but Lorelai and Rory knows that William's Luke's. About Jess knowing about LL hooking up, I haven't decided anything specifically. And yes, there's been little of Rory/Jess, because they are a background pairing in this fic.

**Copop** - I stand by what I've said. So you'd be right about that suspicion turning out to be false.

**flcrkr** - Thank you, and yes, I know I will find a good job, it was just I was counting on that money, so I wouldn't have to borrow cash from mom and dad for rent while I wait for the first pay check to come in. But, oh well. At least I have my parents to back me up.

**biggest fan!!!!** - Less.

* * *

This pillow was possessed. There was simply no doubt about it. Five times. No less than five times just in the last ten minutes of attempting to sew up Linda Blair, as she'd appropriately named said beast, had the needle first gone through the fabric neatly, only to end up pricking her finger next. Sighing, Lorelai examined her poor wounded fingers, all of which were turning purple. This just wasn't happening. She was a master with the needle, an expert seamstress, if one could be so bold to say. There was no reason she should be pricking herself five... _ow_... six times on just one measly pillow. Aggravated to say the least, she pummeled it across the room, wishing the thing had real emotions so she could actually physically hurt it and not just look silly for her peeping neighbors.

Sighing, as the kicking of the bastard pillow did nothing for her, Lorelai sunk onto the couch, gazing over her to-do list which had grown four times its size just from the last hour. _Lamp, entry mat, door knockers... Oh, right, remember to pick up curtain rods!_ As last item was added to the list, she heard a polite knock on the door before it swung open and she heard the familiar thump of Luke stepping out of his shoes as he balanced William and probably the baby bag and a couple of take-out bags as well, if she wasn't much mistaken.

Putting the list back down on the table, she turned around just in time to catch one of William's light-up-the-room smiles. Although she'd been happy to accept Luke's offer to take him for the day, giving father and son a day of bonding, while she drove all over Connecticut picking up items, interviewed prospective inn employees with Sookie, nagged Tom once more about the missing doors, she'd ended up missing her baby like crazy. It didn't matter how stressed out she was, how little she'd slept or how many dozen cups of coffee she'd consumed, there was simply nothing that a little quality time with William couldn't cure.

- Hey baby, she murmured, accepting the baby from Luke.

William immediately snuggled up to his mother, burying his head in the nook of her neck, his right thumb making its way to his mouth, while his left hand grabbed some of her loose, bushy hair, running it between his little fingers. Taking in long whiffs of that sweet baby smell, Lorelai bent down and planted a kiss on his forehead.

- Did you have a good day, she continued. - Mommy really missed you today, did you know that?

William responded with a small sigh, his eyelids drooping, exhausted from what had probably been an exciting day.

- Has he been good, she asked Luke, who had dropped the food off at the table, the baby bag next to the couch and hung his jacket up in the foyer.

- Yeah, of course, Luke said, his eyes focused on something else than Lorelai and William. - Hey, so, why is there a pillow in the fireplace?

- Um, it's in time-out?

- I'm not even gonna ask, Luke said, rolling his eyes.

Lorelai grinned, gazing into his intense blue eyes, which alone were enough to make her heart beat a little faster.

- Hey, she murmured, leaning up to capture his lips, which were on their way down to hers.

It wasn't a peck, nor was it really a kiss-kiss. There was no tongue, just lips brushing against each other, her pressing his bottom lip between her own, while he busied himself at her upper lip. He used his hand to cup her cheek, keeping their lips pressed together for a couple more seconds before letting go.

- Hey back at ya, he replied, in that low bass voice she loved hearing him speak in.

She wanted to kiss him again, but the smell of cheeseburgers and coffee had reached her nostrils and she realized exactly how hungry she was. She couldn't remember when she'd last eaten. Her head had just been too pre-occupied with the many things that needed to be done before the test run, which was now, terrifyingly enough only two weeks away. It was probably the ultimate sign on how stressed out she really was, because Lorelai Gilmore was not one to skip a meal, not for anything. She passed William, who was now on the verge of sleeping, back to Luke and started searching through the bags Luke brought. As usual there were burgers and fries for her and a salad for him.

- God, I'm hungry, she informed him, finding the cheeseburger she'd smelled in only a matter of seconds.

- Well, I figured, Luke shrugged. - You didn't come into the diner all day.

- How can you be so sure I didn't just go somewhere else, Lorelai challenged him.

- Because my food's better, my coffee's better, not to mention you left your kid with me, Luke pointed out with a raised brow.

- I could've been out of town, Lorelai suggested.

- Your errands ended before noon, Luke replied.

- How can you be so sure about that?

- Because that's when you were meeting Sookie to interview people for the inn and meet with the new food suppliers.

- Jeez, did you go through my day planner or something, Lorelai wanted to know.

- No, but someone, despite claiming she'd, and I quote; 'stop doing the words putting into sentences doing'; very elegantly put, by the way, if she didn't have caffeine in her system; was strangely enough very chatty this morning, Luke said, dryly.

- You keep forgettting that I'd already drunk all the coffee in the house before I came over, Lorelai pointed out, smiling over the little exchange they'd had that morning.

- You also didn't get any sleep last night, factoring that in with your high caffeine tolerance I'd say they cancelled each other out.

- And yet you tried convincing me to switch to herbal tea, Lorelai uttered, disapprovingly.

- Just because you have a high tolerance for the poison doesn't make it any less bad for you, Luke stated, calmly.

William squirmed in his arms and Luke shifted him around, letting the boy rest his head against his chest, rocking him back and forth. William's little hands grabbed a hold of Luke's flannel, running it between his miniature finger tips. Lorelai chuckled as she noticed the wet stain on Luke's sleeve, where William's head had been just a minute earlier. This was probably a sign that she could expect the first tooth to emerge in the near future. She made a mental note to stop by the baby store to get William a biting ring. _And the list keeps growing._

- So besides throwing yourself all over the task of giving yourself a heart attack, Luke continued, taking a seat next to her. - How are you doing? Still stressing?

- I think, with the opening date being just a month away, if I wasn't stressing about that I'd be stressing about the fact that I wasn't stressing, Lorelai pointed out. - I mean, it can all either fall into place or go completely to hell. Sookie still hasn't finished hiring her kitchen staff, Tom keep promising me that the doors are on their way, but so far I haven't seen them and Michel keeps pestering me about not yet having a desk. The stables are still a mess and I need them to be inhabitable in five days, which is when Sophie's bringing Cletus and Desdemona over. And Sookie's having me taste everything she's making and setting me up with the poultry guy. And I'm driving all over the state to pick up things me and Sookie had set aside like months ago.

- I didn't know they did that, Luke said, with a raised brow.

- They don't, Lorelai shrugged. - But that's where my persuasion skills come in handy.

- So let me get this straight. You talked several antique stores into putting things on hold in case you decided to buy them, Luke asked, amazed.

- There's no limit to my power of persuasion, Lorelai stated, proudly. - You of all people should know that.

- I'm beginning to learn that, Luke chuckled. - So, you and the poultry guy, huh?

- Yes, we're thinking a June wedding, Lorelai quipped. - You don't mind, right?

- Who am I to stand between you and true love, Luke played along.

- I really wish you'd been there, Lorelai sighed. - It would've made rejecting Shel so much easier. Because since Sookie had let him know I was available, he didn't buy me saying I had a boyfriend and thought it was a comment on him.

- You haven't told Sookie about us, huh?

- I'm sorry, but how was I to know she was planning on setting me up with half the men in Connecticut, Lorelai wanted to know.

- No, it's okay, Luke chuckled. - I'm just surprised, that's all.

- I wasn't sure if you wanted it out, Lorelai shrugged. - I mean, we kinda agreed on keeping this on the down-low for a while.

- Because if we don't we'll have Babette and Miss Patty breathing down out necks, Luke pointed out.

- Good point, Lorelai chuckled. - So I can tell Sookie?

- Yeah, sure, Luke told her. - I mean, I kinda let it slip to Liz, so who am I to say you can't?

- You told Liz?

- Yeah, kinda, Luke shrugged. - Or I don't know if I was the one that told her. She was hinting heavily on that Jess told her something and she already knew about my divorce without me having told her about that. Maybe she already knew, or she was spinning my head, tricking me into telling her. I don't know how much you've told Rory. I mean, you guys pretty much share everything, so I figured maybe Jess found out from her.

- I think it's possible she was spinning your head, Lorelai grinned.

- You mean Rory doesn't know, Luke asked, surprised.

- Oh, Rory knows, she assured him. - But she's not exactly one to talk, if you know what I mean.

- Maybe she let it slip, Luke suggested. - Liz said that was what Jess did when he told her about my divorce. At least I'm guessing he heard that from Rory.

- I'm sorry, Lorelai apologized. - I didn't know it was a secret.

- It's not, Luke assured her. - Liz and I just haven't spoken since the last time she was here. And today her and TJ showed up out of the blue to tell me they're getting married.

- Wow, that's cool, Lorelai smiled. - When's the big day?

- Next week. They're doing it in the square, Saturday.

- Wow, that's... um... ah... is she pregnant?

- What? Why?

- I'm just saying it sounds a bit fast, Lorelai shrugged.

- Yeah, that's my sister for you, Luke muttered, shaking his head. - To tell you the truth I'm surprised it took them this long to do it. Could be she's actually serious about this one.

- Come on, Lorelai laughed. - She can't be that bad. How many times has she been married?

- Three that I know about, Luke shrugged. - She just has this tendency to fall for guys a bit too easy. Everytime it's 'the one'. Give'em a week or two and they move in and those that hang out for more than two months, she marries. Now, I don't know if TJ's like the rest of them or if he's different. From what I've seen of him, he seems like an okay guy, but given my sister's history, I'm not exactly jumping up and down in joy.

- You never jump up and down in joy, Lorelai giggled.

- You know what I mean, Luke told her with a pointed look. - Anyways, Liz told me to tell you she'd like you to come.

- Like she told you to give me those ear rings she made, Lorelai challenged.

- Something like that, Luke shrugged. - You wanna go?

- I don't know, Lorelai shrugged. - I mean, yeah, I'd like to go, but what about William?

- We could take him with us, Luke suggested. - It's a Renaissance wedding, people will all be in colorful costumes, so there'll be a lot of things for him to see. And if he gets restless, then your house's just five minutes away. I think he'll like it. Besides, I have to go either way and if you're not there crazy Carrie might get a bit too personal.

- Ah, here comes the real reason you want me there, Lorelai joked.

- She's like Patty and Babette combined when they've had too much to drink, Luke explained. - I'm begging you to please come with me.

- On one condition, Lorelai grinned. - That you dance with me.

- I don't dance, Luke insisted.

- If you want me to come, you'll dance, Lorelai said, stubbornly. - Or else I might just have to leave you to your fate. I'm sure Carrie will find a way to drag you onto the dance floor.

- Fine, one dance, Luke gave in. - One, that's it. Just one.

- It's a starting point, Lorelai grinned.

- It's my final offer.

- We'll see.

- I mean it.

- Luke?

- Yeah?

- Eat your salad.

TBC


	86. A Surprise in the Dining Room

AN: So, yes, I've heard the grave news and I'm absolutely devastated. I feel betrayed as a fan that they held season 8 up as a reward for us for handing on only to take it away at the cruelest moment possible. I really don't want to rant about it here as well. I'm ranting at FanForum and I'm writing letters to the CW, trying to convince them what a mistake this is and I encourage all of you to do the same. I'm focusing all my energy on writing, because it's my form for therapy. I do worry what comes next. Some writers will probably feel too depressed to write, just as some readers will abandone stories, because it will hurt too much to read. I have no desire to become one who abandones post, so I have a proposition for you guys. As long as you stick with me (preferably reviewing as well), I promise to stick by you in return and keep the story alive. I don't want the show ending to be the end of the fan community.

AN2: Steph, thank you so much for the beta and for hanging in with me in such hard times.

**flcrkr** - I'm so glad I helped cheer you up and thank you so much for helping me in return yesterday. I really, really appreciate it.

**spinningcreation** - A new reader definitely beats a subscription to the Fruit of the Month Club. Care to split your winnings, though? lol jk.

**Corinna** - Sure I remember you, I'm glad to see you return :) And very glad to hear I still have your trust. I'll pass on your adoration for William to my two nieces who are my inspiration. My sister sent me the most hilarious txt on my birthday where she told me that she and my oldest niece had recorded themselves singing happy birthday on the cellphone which she was gonna send me, then my youngest niece (which is 1 1/2 years old) had managed to delete the recording. The same girl also set the background on my sis' phone. I have a feeling she'll be somewhat of a tech wiz when she gets older. Good luck on your finals and everything, I hope to see you reviewing again soon.

AN3: My novelists are still MIA, where are you guys? Now is the time I _really_ need you... :(

* * *

Lorelai immediately was amused when she stepped into the kitchen of the Dragonfly, balancing William on her hip, overhearing Sookie and Jackson arguing over the vegetables he'd just delivered. It felt so familiar, like as if the fire and the past year of fixing up the Dragonfly hadn't even happened and she really was standing in the kitchen of the Independence inn, watching an every day scene taking place in front of her. But of course the mention of Davey and William grabbing a hold of the neckline of her dress, had Lorelai snap back into the present just as Sookie suggested measuring if they could fit a radish up Davey's nose.

- Hey, guys, she interrupted. - You probably shouldn't shove a radish up your son's nose. Just me thinking out loud.

- All right, Sookie sighed. - I'll take these if it's _all_ you've got.

- Well, don't do me any favors, Jackson snapped, storming out.

- You two are back big-time, Lorelai chuckled, as she placed William in the high chair she and Sookie had gotten for the restaurant.

- That actually felt good, Sookie grinned, then noticed the baby. - Hey, Luke's not watching him today?

- No, why do you ask?

- Nothing, Sookie shrugged. - I was just making an observation that he seems to be doing that a lot lately.

Before Lorelai had time to respond to the statement, her phone rang.

- I'll get back to you, she said, stepping out of the kitchen and into the hallway. - Hello?

- _There's so much joy around me, I'm gonna hurl_, Rory complained at the other end.

- Aw, everyone else's done with finals, already?

- _Yes, and they're in complete party mood. They're high-fiving all around me._

- So go to Jess', Lorelai suggested. - There won't be any high-fiving going on over there.

- _Jess's there._

- Aw, I thought you guys were good. What happened?

- _No, we're good_, Rory sighed. - _But if I go there now, I'll be all resentful because he's all done with school, finals and everything. It's better for both of us if I stay away until tomorrow_

- Really, he's done already? He didn't drop out again, right?

- _No, he had his last final just last week. All he has left is graduation, which he says he's not going to, and there's no talking him into. I've tried._

- At least tell me he took you to prom, Lorelai pleaded.

- _I had to study for my political fiction exam, which was taking place the very next day, so we decided to drop it._

- You decided or he decided?

- _I decided. You know me, mom, school comes first_

- That's my good girl, Lorelai grinned. - So, is there a particular reason you're calling?

- _No, I just needed to vent._

- Well, before you go back to your studies, I have a small favor to ask. Or it could be big, depending on how you see it.

- _Speak._

- Your final ends early, right? I don't have that wrong?

- _I finish around noon, why?_

- Well, see, Liz is getting married on Saturday and Luke asked me if I wanted to go, so I was wondering if you wouldn't mind watching your brother for a couple of hours. I mean, I'll pay you and help you pack up your things if you need help with that.

- _Mom, you know I don't mind watching William._

- Why do I get a feeling there's a big 'but' at the end of that sentence, Lorelai asked, making a face.

- _It's just that I'm actually going._

- To the wedding?

- _No, ice skating_, Rory said, sarcastically. - _Yes, to the wedding._

- How come you didn't tell me this before?

- _I thought you already knew._

- No, see I missed the parenting class where they taught us mind reading. The 'how to be a cool parent' lecture however, that one I caught.

- _I thought Luke told you_, Rory stated, ignoring her mother's witty remarks.

- Luke knows you're coming?

- _Yeah, he came by a couple of days ago to talk Jess into giving his mom away at the altar and then Jess asked me to come with. I'm surprised Luke didn't mention it._

- Well, he's been a bit pre-occupied these last days, so guess it slipped his mind, Lorelai shrugged.

- _Or he probably assumed you'd hear it from me_, Rory suggested.

- Yeah, Lorelai nodded. - Probably. So while we're updating me on things I don't know about, is there anything to add to that list?

- _Well, me and Jess have been talking about maybe doing a trip this summer._

- A trip, huh? Where?

- _I don't know_, Rory admitted. - _Or, well. It's kinda a spontaneous trip, head wherever we feel like it. It would be for like three weeks or something._

- _You_ be spontaneous, Lorelai asked, amused. - Hah, funny. I'd like to see that.

- _Need I remind you that one of the criterias of being the cool parent is to not mock your child_, Rory pointed out.

- I'm sorry, kid, Lorelai apologized. - But need I remind you of our little spontaneous road trip a few years back, where you insisted on staying in that Liberace room, cause you wouldn't take the chance on finding a better place?

- _That was different_, Rory insisted. - _We'd been driving aimlessly around all day and I didn't wanna have to sleep in the car._

- We would've found a different place, Lorelai argued.

- _With your sense of direction_, Rory retorted. - _Please._

- I hope you're not insinuating Jess has a better sense of direction.

- _No, but at least he's letting me bring a map._

- Bah, you're no fun.

- _Then, you won't mind my absence for a couple of weeks_, Rory quipped.

- So, are we talking early summer? Late summer, Lorelai asked. - Some place in the middle?

- _Well, I was thinking maybe early summer_, Rory suggested.

- How early, Lorelai wanted to know.

- _Like heading off after the test run and be back a couple of weeks later?_

- Wow, that early, huh?

- _It's kinda your call_, Rory told her. - _I figured you'd be busy getting the inn started. I mean, if you need some extra help, with the inn or with William, then we can do the whole trip later. We don't_ have _to do it right away. It was just a thought._

- No, I'm good, Lorelai insisted. - I mean, sure, I'll miss you, but I'd do that no matter when you went. And you're right, I will be madly busy in the beginning, so it's probably best to get it over with then.

- _You sure_, Rory asked, wanting her to be certain. - _Cause it really is no problem. Jess' boss is letting him pick which weeks to take off, so there's no time schedule on our hands._

- Yes, Lorelai insisted. - Enjoy being young while you're still free to do it. Mommy will be fine. I have Luke, I have William, I'm set.

- _I've been replaced_, Rory mock-complained.

- Nah, Lorelai laughed. - You know you'll always be my special, one of a kind little girl, my first born, my...

Lorelai's ramblings was interrupted with a gasp as she was surprised by the sight of Cletus standing right in the middle of the inn's finished, but still unfurnished dining room.

- _Mom_, Rory asked, confused.

- There's a horse in the dining room, Lorelai finally uttered.

- _What?_

- Cletus is in the dining room.

- _Why?_

- He heard about the terrific continental breakfast, Lorelai suggested. - I have no idea. I gotta go look into this.

- _Okay. Bye._

- Bye, hon. See you tomorrow, Lorelai replied, hanging up.

Sighing, she approached the animal, astounded that everyone around her apparently had noticed him already, but yet no one seemed to be doing anything about it.

- Lorelai, Michel called out, making his way towards her with some papers. - I need your signature on this, please.

- Michel, Lorelai responded.

- Yes?

- Do you happen to see the big-nostriled thing next to me, here, she asked.

- The horse?

- Uh huh, the horse, Lorelai nodded.

- It's been there for twenty minutes, Michel shrugged.

- Oh. What were you doing about it?

- Eh, nothing?

- Oh, really? Nothing, Lorelai asked, wanting to be surprised about it, but couldn't.

- It's a giant, smelly horse, Michel reasoned. - I figured someone was already taking care of it.

- Well, as Cletus has taken up the dining room for twenty minutes, Lorelai replied. - It's obvious that no one is taking care of it.

- Well, I see that now, Michel shrugged.

- Just go take him back to the paddock, Lorelai sighed.

- Why me, Michel demanded.

- One; I have to get back to William, so I can't do it, Lorelai reasoned. - Two; you're the only other person in this room right now, besides me. And three; you really should've been doing this twenty minutes ago.

- But I'm wearing my new expensive Italian loafers, Michel complained. - If I step into anything, they will get ruined.

- Michel, Lorelai warned, in that tone she used when her word was final.

Michel sent her a dirty look, but recognized that she was a force not to reckon with, so he reluctantly guided the horse out of dining room, towards the front door. Shaking her head over the whole thing, Lorelai returned to the kitchen.

- You'll never guess who I just found standing in the middle of the dining room, she said.

- Luke, Sookie guessed.

- Cletus, Lorelai corrected her.

- Still, Sookie asked. - He's been there, what? Thirty minutes?

- You mean you knew he was there, Lorelai asked, in disbelief. - And you didn't do anything?

- I figured someone was already taking care of it, Sookie shrugged.

- Alright, Lorelai sighed, picking up the toy William just dropped onto the floor. - New Dragonfly inn rule; If a horse or any other large quadruped or biped or anything that's not human gets into the inn, figure no one's doing anything about it and do something.

- Okay, Sookie shrugged. - No problem.

- Umph, William uttered, as the toy once again slipped out of his hands.

Lorelai shook her head and bent down to pick it up again.

- Hey, Sookie, she asked, handing the toy back to William. - Can I ask you something?

- Sure, the chef shrugged. - Ask away.

- Are you busy tomorrow?

- You mean besides taking Davey while Jackson does his vegetable deliveries?

- I was wondering if you wouldn't mind watching William for me, Lorelai shrugged.

- Sure, Sookie replied. - No problem. You got some more errands to do?

- Actually, Lorelai said, deciding she might as well let Sookie in on it. - Luke's taking me to his sister's wedding.

Had Sookie been a cartoon character, her eyes would've popped out of her sockets and her chin would've piled up on the floor. Truth be told the cartoon image wasn't that far from reality, as Sookie was at that moment staring at her wide-eyed, her mouth wide open.

- Sookie, Lorelai asked.

Before she knew what was happening, the chef had jumped from her frozen state to hugging her tightly while jumping up and down squealing. It seemed like she was trying to say something, but it all came out in high pitched sounds.

- Oh my God, she exclaimed, excitedly. - I'm so happy! This is just so wonderful!

Lorelai couldn't help but be caught up in this vivacious excitement and jumped up and down excitedly with her bubbly friend, grinning widely.

- When did this happen? When did he ask? How did he ask? I need details!

- Okay, Sookie, calm down, Lorelai begged, laughing. - I'm going on a date, not getting engaged.

- Date, Sookie squealed, jumping up and down once more. - You said date! You're going on a date with Luke! I'm so excited about this! I mean, I thought when Nicole finally got out of the picture you'd finally tell him and you'd get together. And now you have and I'm just so damn happy!

Sookie's eyes were tearing up in excitement, kinda like back when Lorelai had announced her engagement with Max. Sookie had simply started crying, then blubbered on about how wonderful it was and how happy she was for her.

- How long _has_ this been going on, Sookie asked, once she got her voice back under control. - Is this why he's been watching William for you so much lately? And why Babette's seen him come by your house a lot?

- Oh, no, Lorelai groaned. - Babette saw him? So the town knows?

- Just a couple of times, Sookie assured her. - And since Luke always was dropping off William and not staying very long, they don't have anything specific. They're watching you though. Why? You don't want this out? Why don't you want this out?

- We just want to have this to ourselves, Lorelai shrugged.

- 'We', Sookie squealed, clapping her hands in excitement. - There's a 'we'. And a 'this'.

She pulled Lorelai in for another hug.

- Hey, Lorelai, she asked.

- Yeah?

- This is good.

Lorelai sighed, hugging her friend back.

- I know, she muttered, happily.

TBC


	87. Luke can waltz

**IMPORTANT AN:** Okay, so I'm doing something new with this story. I know I've been hinting that I possibly were going to write some smut chapters. Well, as I know I have readers who don't care much for smut, I've decided to keep the "Comfort Food" rating clean and instead put the smut chapters in a companioning series I've decided to call "Dirty Comfort". At the end of any chapter that has a smut chapter following, I will put a notice so that those who wants to read those chapters as well, will be able to do so without problems. Each DC chapter will be numbered with the chapter number it follows and have a "B" added on the end of it. And when there's a new DC chapter I will update the two series at the same time, but don't be a snitch because of it and stick me with a shared review for them (_I really hate it when people do that; For me that's like giving someone a combo Christmas-birthday present. You would've given the person the same thing if it had just been one and not the other. That's why I've never done multiple-chapter updates in the past_). This is something I'm doing for you guys. I don't _have_ to write anything for DC because this story works well without it. 

AN2: Shoutout to Steph for the beta and song suggestions, Cassie for the song suggestions and Kasia for the reference help.

**burgerman** - Would it be blasphemic for me if I just added an 'amen' to your comment? lol, you just pointed out why I love fanfiction so much.

**biggest fan** - I hope you know I cherish all my reviewers. But can you blame me for missing those who gives me the page-long reviews?

**CrimsonScarz** - Okay, so it's not set on your birthday, but have a happy birthday on Tuesday.

**Caffeination** - I'm right there with ya. We held on to the show during all this bad time, because they had promised us they'd make it up to us in the end, instead they took those promises away. I've watched a lot of shows, been invested in several ships that didn't exactly go the way I wanted them to, but I've never before felt so betrayed as I do here. We weren't promised an ending, we were promised a middle and they took that away from us. And it might be vindictive of me, I don't care, but I want the people responsible for the pain they've given us to experience the same pain themselves.

**Severien** - I'm glad you're sticking by my story, but let me know if you want some other recommendations, because fanfics are all we have now and more than ever we have to embrace it. And the wedding episode is my favorite as well. I've seen it a million times... lol okay, slight exaggeration, but you know what I mean.

**Copop** - No, I'm definitely not stopping. For every fandom I've written in I've not stopped because the fandom ended. As long as there's a story for me to tell, I'm gonna keep on writing. And I'm definitely gonna keep on reading.

**hope-everlasting** - Rant away, as long as it includes something about the story somewhere inside there ;)

**chants** - Yup, every 3 days sounds about it. It's longer if the reviews are few or if I don't have a chapter finished. Shorter if the reviews are many and I'm very ahead. At the moment I'm ahead.

* * *

The plan had originally been for Luke to pick her up at her own house. But as Lorelai was dropping William off at Sookie's, she decided to surprise him at his place instead and made it to his street just as Luke stepped out of the diner, brushing off his suit, obviously intending to head directly to her house. Deciding to cut him off before he got too far, she skipped up to him. 

- Greetings, my lord, she greeted him with a courteous bow. - Your lady hath arrived to be escorted forthwith.

- That's very good, Luke complimented her. - I didn't know you spoke Renaissance.

- Oh, yeah, Lorelai grinned. - I'm quite fluent in Renaissance.

- Didn't we say I was gonna pick you up, he asked, confused. - And where's William?

- I just dropped him off at Sookie's, Lorelai explained. - So I decided to surprise you.

- You didn't have to do that, Luke told her.

- What? Surprise you, Lorelai asked. - I didn't see much point in going back to the house just so you could pick me up.

- I meant I didn't want you to feel you had to get a sitter, Luke explained. - I was more than happy to take both of you.

- I know that, Lorelai assured him. - But I wanted to. I have enough experience with this kinda thing to know that sooner or later he'll get restless and bored. I've seen countless parents completely stress out trying to get their kids to sit still throughout various ceremonies, not to mention I was one of those kids once. It's not a lot of fun. Trust me, he'll have a lot more fun playing with Davey than he would with us.

She shrugged, suddenly flashing him a suggestive smile.

- Besides, how was I supposed to get that dance you promised me if he came with us?

- As long as you remember that I agreed on a 'dance' as in _one_, Luke empathized.

- I believe negotiations are still in session regarding that subject, she grinned.

- I'm _not_ yielding, Luke insisted.

- So, are we going, Lorelai asked. - Or are we planning on watching the ceremony from afar?

- Let's go, Luke said, motioning for her to follow. - But I mean it, one dance, that's it.

- We'll see, Lorelai shrugged, smiling mischievously.

As they approached the square, Lorelai let her eyes wander, taking in the transformation of the place. If it hadn't been for the cars driving down the street in the background, the electrical lighting and a million other little reminders of the modern world they lived in, she could've sworn they had stepped through some time portal and into an authentic Renaissance wedding. Or what she imagined an authentic Renaissance wedding to be like, as no one, except maybe historians, would be able to tell the difference. Everyone around her was dressed in period clothing, the band sitting in the gazebo were playing Renaissance music on appropriate instruments. In a way, seeing how everyone around her was dressed up and acting, she couldn't help but feel that they were sticking out like sore thumbs, Luke especially. At least she'd added the festive wreath to her hair.

- Hey Luke, she asked him. - How come you didn't dress up?

- What do you mean, Luke wanted to know. - I _am_ dressed up.

He gestured to both the suit and the tie.

- No, I mean with the whole period clothing.

- You mean actually engage in this insanity, Luke asked.

Lorelai laughed.

- Oh, I don't know, she shrugged. - I'm sure you'd look hot in tights.

- Not gonna happen, Luke told her, quickly.

- Okay, so maybe not tights, Lorelai gave in. - But at least something to help you blend in a little better, like a wreath.

- You can't be serious, Luke laughed.

- No, really, Lorelai insisted. - A nice, manly wreath in your hair wouldn't work?

- There's no such thing as a manly wreath, Luke pointed out.

- Oh, I don't know, Lorelai shrugged. - Julius Caesar pulled it off. He was very popular with the ladies.

- Oh, really, Luke asked. - Julius Caesar is your definition of manly?

- Okay, Lorelai giggled. - Maybe 'manly' was a bit of an overkill, but you gotta agree about him pulling off the wreath thing, though.

- Yes, Ceasar is the king of the wreaths, Luke deadpanned.

- Emperor, actually, Lorelai quipped. - They say Cleopatra used to pull his leaves off. Very sexy.

- I bet, Luke replied, rolling his eyes.

Their little banter was interrupted by a man Lorelai guessed to be one of the ushers.

- What's this, he asked. - Surely these be time travelers from the future in such foreign, mystical garb.

Lorelai could tell Luke already had an 'aw geez' all lined up and was struggling to hold it in.

- And who be you, kind sir, she asked in return.

- TJ's brother, the usher replied, motioning for the two of them to follow him up to the second row of seats. - I've got a patio furniture store down in Nutley.

He pulled a business card out and handed it to her.

- Plastic, metal, teak, he listed up. - Whatever you need, I can hook you up.

- Okay, Lorelai said, politely, accepting the card from him. - Thank you.

She turned towards Luke.

- Hey, could you see where he pulled that card out from, she asked curiously.

- Sorry no, Luke shrugged , as they each took a seat. - Hey listen, can you do me a favor?

- What?

- I need to keep a happy, proud look on my face to cover the smirking and about-to-laugh-my-ass-off face just underneath. Please help me achieve this.

- Oh, come on, Lorelai replied. - It's a community of people; friends coming together, engage in silliness, dress in costumes. I think it's nice. And, you know, Liz loves it. You should be supportive.

- That's what I'm trying to do, Luke commented, dryly.

Lorelai noticed a blonde, rather forward woman she'd sometimes seen around town, but never officially met, dressed in period clothing come up at their side.

- Hi, Lucas, she said.

- Oh, Luke jumped, startled. - Hi, Carrie.

At the mention of the name, Lorelai suddenly understood why Luke had begun to sink into his chair, as if he was trying to dig his way away from the woman.

- Is that a power suit, Carrie, asked, raising her brows suggestively.

- It's my only suit, Luke responded.

- Looks pretty powerful to me.

Lorelai felt Luke's hand grasp hers, signaling to Carrie that she was unwelcome, but the woman didn't take the hint. Instead she bent over, making sure to flash her entire cleavage at both of them, well Luke mainly, although it was pretty much impossible for Lorelai not to get the full visual of the melons.

- So, um, Carrie continued, making sure to lean in towards Luke, which caused him to back further up against the back of his chair. - Barry stayed home.

- Who, Luke asked, confused.

- The ball and chain, she elaborated. - I'm flying solo tonight. Save a dance for me?

- I don't dance, Luke told Carrie, like he had told Lorelai, but more persistently.

Carrie only seemed to take this as a challenge.

- You will dance, she said, simply.

- Tell you what, Lorelai decided to chime in. - I'll work on him for ya. In case he tires of me, I'll let you cut in, how's that?

Carrie only smiled and nodded politely in return.

- Carrie, Luke said to the woman. - This is Lorelai.

- I know, Carrie said in a less than pleased tone. - Hi.

- Hi, Lorelai smiled.

- So, um, there's gonna be a little delay, Carrie said, changing the subject. - Liz ripped her dress, and it's gonna take a while to fix it. I'm supposed to spread the message.

- Well, spread it, Luke started, then caught himself in what he was saying. - The message, I mean.

Luke visibly shuddered as Carrie left.

- She makes me _very_ uncomfortable, Luke informed her.

- Poor Liz, Lorelai said, thinking about what Carrie had said. - Does she know how to fix something like that?

- She was never one for household skills, Luke shrugged. - Hey, what was up with what you were saying to her just now? You do realize she's gonna do everything she can to get me onto that dance floor.

- I know, Lorelai grinned. - Hey, I'm gonna go and check on Liz. She's at Miss Patty's?

- Don't leave me alone, Luke pleaded.

- I'm sorry, but I think saving Liz's wedding has a higher priority than saving you from Carrie, Lorelai reasoned. - Besides, I'll be right back.

- See, this is why we should've brought William, Luke grumbled.

- I'm glad you had such a distinctive purpose for him, Lorelai laughed.

- I didn't mean...

- I know, Lorelai cut him off. - But, hey, look. Carrie found herself another victim, that'll keep her occupied.

She squeezed his hand reassuringly before letting it go, making her way towards Miss Patty's.

- Hurry back, Luke pleaded behind her.

Lorelai could visibly see the relief wash over Miss Patty's face when she entered the studio.

- Oh, Lorelai, the woman exclaimed. - Thank heavens. I'm so bad with wardrobe.

- I ripped my dress getting up, Liz explained. - I'm such a klutz.

- Well, don't worry, I'm here now, Lorelai assured her. - Patty? You have a sewing kit?

- Right here, sweetie, Patty replied, handing her the kit.

- I'm holding everyone up, Liz sighed, as Lorelai threaded the needle.

- Don't worry, Lorelai told the nervous bride. - If anyone gets to hold things up, it's you. Relax or I might end up pricking my thumb here.

- I'm so nervous, Liz confessed. - Do I look nervous? I sound nervous.

- You look great, Lorelai assured her. - It's completely normal to be nervous on your wedding day.

- This is the first wedding of mine that I've ever been sober for, Liz informed her. - I'm probably gonna remember this one.

- The ones that you remember are the ones that stick, Patty supplied, holding the fabric together so Lorelai could sew more easily.

- What was your wedding like, Liz wanted to know. - Were you this nervous?

- Never been married, Lorelai shrugged.

- But you've got two kids, Liz pointed out.

- Found a way around that.

- Oh, Liz nodded. - Do you _want_ to get married?

- Oh, now, Liz, Lorelai quipped. - It's inappropriate for you to propose to me on your wedding day.

This brought a laugh out of both the other women.

- But seriously, Liz said. - You wanna get married? You must want to get married.

- I guess, Lorelai shrugged. - It's a bit too early to think about it right now.

- But one day, right, Liz asked, hinting the best she could without giving the relationship away to Patty.

- Right, Lorelai shrugged. - Probably. We'll see.

The answer seemed to satisfy Liz as she continued to ramble on about marriage and how much she wanted this marriage to last, while Lorelai continued stitching up the dress. The ramble was eventually cut off with a knock on the door as Jess walked in.

- You ready, he asked his mom. - The crowd's getting restless.

- _You're_ getting restless, Liz pointed out, getting straight to the point.

- Hey Jess, Lorelai called out.

- Hey, he replied.

- Rory just told me you finished up school, Lorelai continued. - Congratulations.

- Thanks, the boy shrugged.

- Is Rory here yet, she asked him, giving up on getting many words out of him.

- Just outside, Jess shrugged. - Want me to go get her?

- No need, Lorelai assured him. - I'll be out in a minute.

She fastened and cut the thread.

- Make that now, she corrected, then turning her attention towards Liz. - There, all done.

- Perfect, Liz exclaimed, checking out her dress.

- She's a miracle worker, this one, Patty said, praisingly.

- I'm gonna go tell the others, Jess offered.

- Thanks, hon, Liz called after him, then turned to Lorelai. - And thank you. You're gonna make a great wife some day and a great sister-in-law to some _very_ lucky girl.

Lorelai definitely not missing the hint in that smiled back.

- Well, I hope so, she told her.

- Now, you better go save Luke, Liz told her. - Carrie's probably suffocating him with her boobs right about now.

- As festive as that sounds, I still need him around for the coffee, Lorelai laughed.

Liz chuckled and gave her a push towards the door.

Lorelai spotted Rory immediately across the road, as the girl's blue dress stood out in the sea of period clothing. She was sitting in the front row, turned around, chatting away with Luke who seemed a lot more comfortable now that Carrie was stationed up at the front, waiting for the ceremony to start instead of hitting on him. As she walked back towards her seat, Luke was the first of the two to see her.

- Everything okay, he asked.

- Crisis averted, she assured him.

- Hey mom, Rory said, getting up to greet her with a hug, or as much of a hug one could give over a row of chairs.

- Hey kid, Lorelai replied, hugging her back for a couple of more seconds before letting her go so she could get seated. - How are you doing? Enjoying your newfound freedom?

- You have no idea, Rory sighed. - When I walked out of that exam room today, it felt like a giant weight had just been lifted off my shoulders. Just knowing that I don't have to think about school or classes for months. I can just relax and do nothing.

- Do nothing, Lorelai commented, with a raised brow.

- Don't mock, Rory warned her.

- I give you a week, Lorelai said. - Two tops until you're completely indulged in yet another one of your obscure Russian authors.

- Yes, but that's for pleasure, Rory shrugged.

The band in the gazebo interrupted their conversation by playing a fanfare, commencing the ceremony.

- Must be starting, Luke commented, as the trio straightened themselves up in their seats.

- Think they know any Zeppelin, Lorelai asked, more Rory than Luke.

- We could always try requesting 'Stairway to Heaven' at the reception, Rory shrugged.

- But stick to the instrumental, right? 'Cause I don't trust just anyone to sing it.

- We could always hold voice auditions, Rory suggested, as two flowergirls skipped down the aisle, throwing rose petals around.

- What do you think, Lorelai asked, turning to Luke. - Would that be drawing away too much attention?

- Probably, Luke said, dryly, then pointing to one of the flower girls. - Does she remind you of someone?

Lorelai looked up just as the girl in question turned around and gave a bow.

- Can you say Leslie Van Houten, she remarked.

A court jester did a series of handsprings down the aisle, finishing up with a back tuck, which earned him a little round of applause from the audience.

- I just gotta ask, Luke commented. - The flowers I get, but what did the flipping court jester have to do with the ceremony?

- Maybe he's like the warm-up act, Lorelai suggested. - Entertaining us while we wait for the main event.

- You didn't answer my question, Luke pointed out.

- I don't know, Lorelai shrugged. - It's fun, it's whimsical. Just go with it.

As TJ passed them, rambling on about the many benefits of tights, he leaned over towards Luke.

- Hey, he said, lifting his arms. - Still dry. Thanks, buddy.

- You dried his armpits, Lorelai asked him, rasing her brows, as TJ continued down the aisle.

- I don't want to talk about it.

The band played another fanfare, signaling to everyone to turn their attention towards the back. There Liz arrived in what Lorelai could only describe as a medieval, royal entrance, sitting in a cart, decorated with flowers and colorful streamers, with two men pushing it towards a wooden archway decorated the same way as the cart.

- Oh, I want one of those, Lorelai remarked.

Jess, living up to his role as Liz's escort, offered her his hand, helping her up, then proceeded to walk her down the aisle. The crowd all rose to greet the bride. With what she'd learned about Luke and Liz's past, how Luke basically had bailed Liz out every single crisis, guy-related and otherwise, she knew that Luke put up with being his sister's constant savior because he wanted nothing more than for her to be happy. She also knew that even though Luke seemed to have taken to TJ, it didn't stop him from worrying, and she wanted to assure him that this was right for Liz.

- She looks happy, she told him.

- Yeah, Luke nodded. - She does.

Lorelai felt the urge to display her affection in some way, like leaning forward to rest her head on his shoulder, kiss his cheek or wrap her arms around him, but with Patty observing them from the back, Lorelai opted to go for something less obvious for the people around them and took his hand, intertwining her fingers with his, giving it a squeeze. Luke, obviously aware of Patty as well, remained still, seemingly watching his sister walk by, and simply squeezed Lorelai's hand in return. As Liz arrived in front of TJ, she gave Jess a peck on the cheek, before letting him return to his seat beside Rory, who along with the rest of the wedding party was now sitting down.

- Where's the minister, Lorelai asked, confused, as she could only see Liz, TJ, Carrie and TJ's brother up at the front.

Her question was answered when a man strumming a guitar, singing what was probably the silliest song she's ever heard in her life, even more silly than her impromptus painting song a few years back, when she'd twisted Luke's arm into painting the diner with her. Lorelai looked over at Luke in amusement and noticed the pained expression on his face as he struggled to stay serious. By the time the minister ended the song, singing in falsetto, it became too much for even Lorelai to take and her shoulders were visibly shaking as she, too, tried to keep herself from laughing.

- Help, Luke yelped.

- Think of something not funny, Lorelai suggested, pressing her lips together to prevent any sound to come out.

- Can't, Luke muttered, his shoulders shaking more and more.

- You may plant the ceremonial sword, the minister told the bride and groom, who happily obliged and planted the sword in a wooden tree stub.

- Avalanches, Lorelai muttered, ransacking her mind of any bad things in the world that she could thing of. - Earthquakes...

- Not doing it, Luke said, through gritted teeth.

- Famine, Lorelai continued, finding nothing more to list. - And I'm out...

Desperate, she tapped Rory's shoulder, lightly.

- Ground me, she pleaded.

- Can't.., Rory said, shaking as she, too, struggled not to laugh. - Stay... Serious...

Luckily neither the minister, nor TJ and Liz noticed and the ceremony proceeded. As Liz declared her love for TJ, Lorelai, no longer feeling the pressing urge to laugh, let her hand run up Luke's arm. Luke responding by grasping her hand once it reached his, stroking his thumb over the back of it. Up at the front Liz spoke her feelings beautifully and when it was TJ's turn, it was no surprise that it was a short and concise 'I love you', but in a way, it just made sense with TJ's blunt nature that his vow was just as straight to the point.

The ceremony was shorter than any other Lorelai had witnessed, and seeing as she'd helped plan and organize thousands of them, she had grounds for comparison. But it was, also, the most beautiful, not to mention entertaining ceremony she'd ever had the pleasure to attend.

After the ceremony, while Liz and TJ posed for wedding pictures at the side of the decorated Gazebo, the guests not directly involved with the ceremony itself helped clear away the chairs and set up tables, including Lorelai and Rory. Luke, who, when the Turkey leg guy violated his parole, suddenly had found himself in charge of the food, helped set up the buffet.

As the day got darker and the two Gilmore girls realized how many hours they had gone without eating, they both headed up to Luke who was still placing food on the tables.

- Luke, Lorelai said, sweetly, dragging out his name.

- What?

- How long until you're done?

- I don't know, Luke shrugged. - A while.

- Can you be more specific, Lorelai asked.

- Why do you wanna know?

- Because I'm hungry.

- You're always hungry, Luke retorted. - It'll be ready in about half an hour.

- Can't you hurry up, Lorelai begged, giving him the pout.

- Yes, please, Rory added, backing up with her infamous Rory-eyes.

- Geez, Luke muttered. - Why are you two ganging up on me, like that?

- We're hungry, Rory explained.

- Waiting half an hour won't kill you, Luke pointed out.

- But we're bored, Lorelai added.

- Weren't you planning on harassing the band, Luke asked. - Why don't you go and do that in the meantime.

- But, we can't do that on an empty stomach, Rory argued.

- Go, Luke begged.

- Can't you just give each of us a Turkey leg, Lorelai asked. - We'll stop harassing you, I promise.

- Look, how are we gonna keep this relationship under wraps if I play favorites, Luke asked. - Half an hour.

- Okay, Lorelai sighed. - But remember, I get grumpy when I'm hungry.

- I know, Luke said, dryly.

- Well, don't claim I didn't warn you, Lorelai told him, as she and Rory walked away.

- You're keeping your relationship under wraps, Rory asked.

- Trying to, at least, Lorelai shrugged, not failing to see Rory's expression asking 'why'. - We just don't want the town all over us with questions, which is exactly what'll happen once this gets out. So, we're trying to enjoy whatever time we have until then.

- You do realize Miss Patty's here, Rory pointed out, looking around to find her. - At least she was...

- I know she's here, Lorelai told her. - And so far, Luke and I've been pretty good at being subtle. Maybe we'll be busted before the day ends, maybe not. I just wanna wait to deal with it all until it's out.

- Alright, Rory shrugged. - It's your relationship, your call.

- So, changing the topic, Lorelai segued. - Are you done moving, or do we need to go pick up your boxes tomorrow?

- Actually, Rory replied. - I'm staying at Jess' tonight. He has to do inventory before his vacation officially start and I promised I'd help him out.

- Oh, ok.

Promptly half an hour later, Lorelai and Rory returned to the buffet table, which Luke, knowing better than to break a promise to a Gilmore girl, had finally finished setting up the food. With the exception of a confused Mrs Kim running up to Lorelai, ranting away about Lane living with two boys, the meal itself had been pretty eventless. Once Lorelai had calmed the Korean woman down and helped alter her perspective on the situation, Lorelai returned to Rory and Luke, who had found themselves a table and were chatting about Jess finishing high school. Lorelai thought Luke really looked proud of his nephew.

- Is she okay, Luke asked Lorelai, having been by her side when Mrs Kim had approached her.

- She will be, Lorelai told him.

- What did she want, Rory asked, having been up by the buffet at the time.

- She was just freaking out over Lane sharing an apartment with Zach and Brian, Lorelai shrugged.

Before Rory had time to ask anything else, Jess approached her.

- Can we go, he asked. - That guy over there won't stop yapping about everything he learned in prison.

- Hey, you're leaving already, Lorelai pouted.

- We have to get up early tomorrow, Rory explained. - The sooner we get started the more time I have home before the trip.

- Okay, Lorelai sighed, pulling her daughter in for a hug. - Just make sure we get at least _some_ time before then.

- It's why I'm leaving now, Rory told her.

- Remember to say bye to your mom before you go, Luke reminded Jess.

- I promise, he said before the two teenagers walked off in the direction of Liz and TJ, who were making the rounds.

- It's like a marketing thing, TJ rambled, as the couple approached the table. - Don't call 'em 'tights'. You guys don't want to wear 'tights'. Call 'em 'air pants'. Here's your slogan; 'air pants; the pants that breathe'. I'm telling you, we gotta get in on the ground floor of this.

- There they are, my two heroes, Liz grinned, looking at Lorelai. - You saved the wedding.

- I saved nothing, Lorelai insisted.

- And you, Liz continued, looking at Luke. - You're always my hero, my big brother.

- Congratulations, sis, Luke told her.

- Wasn't Jess great, Liz beamed. - It made all the difference.

- It wasn't like it was a hard thing to do, TJ shrugged. - But he did it good.

- And Rory's great, Liz continued. - I can tell why Jess fell for her. You must be very proud.

- Just every waking minute, Lorelai grinned.

- I thought they was gonna be weird, TJ said. - You know, cause with you two dating they're like step-cousins or something, but they work.

- She's really been a good influence on him, Liz said again.

- Okay, I'm hungry, TJ announced. - Come on, Lizzie, let's get some chow.

- Okay, Liz grinned. - Bye, guys.

- She's so happy, Lorelai commented, as the couple walked off in direction of the buffet table.

- Yeah, Luke said, fondly. - And he _really_ loves tights.

- Air pants, Lorelai corrected him, teasingly. - We should get you a pair.

- I'm not wearing tights.

- Air pants, Lorelai insisted. - They're called air pants now.

- Not gonna happen.

- In my mind you're wearing tights, Lorelai informed him.

- Well, it's your mind, Luke shrugged. - Not like I can stop you.

- No, you can't, Lorelai grinned. - They're pink by the way.

- Aw, geez, Luke groaned.

- What, Lorelai asked, innocently. - I thought you said you didn't mind me dressing you in my mind.

- No, I said I couldn't stop you, Luke argued. - There's a difference.

- There's one way you can stop me, Lorelai hinted. - If you dance with me.

- There's no music, Luke pointed out.

As Luke said it, the beginning of 'Walk like an Egyptian' was heard through the many speakers, a couple of volunteers had helped Kirk rig up during the buffet.

- There is now, Lorelai grinned.

- How did Kirk become the DJ, Luke wondered.

- First of all, it's _your_ own sister's wedding, not to mention you helped her with pretty much everything about it, Lorelai pointed out. - And secondly, you've been watching him toat around speakers, mixing boards and God knows what else and you ask this _now_?

- I thought he was helping out, Luke shrugged. - And about the first thing, the music was the one thing Liz didn't come to me for.

- Yeah, Lorelai shrugged. - I don't think Jimmy Buffet was exactly what she had in mind.

- For the love of.., Luke groaned. - It's been what? A year? Will you ever let it go?

- I'll let it go if you dance with me, Lorelai suggested.

- You still haven't told me how they ended up picking Kirk for the job, Luke replied, ignoring the dance request.

- Do I have to point out yet again that it's _your_ sister's wedding, Lorelai asked. - Why are you expecting me to know?

- Well, you're more up to date on the town happenings than I am, Luke shrugged.

- Okay, true, Lorelai nodded. - Well, from what I heard, Kirk was a bit mad when he found out Patty had chosen Chrissy over him as dance captain for the Maypole dance. And since Liz still didn't have anyone to run music for her, she asked Kirk to do it, to help smooth things over.

- What Maypole dance, Luke asked.

- They were planning on having it for the ceremony.

- So, what happened?

- Banyan boys, Lorelai simply answered.

- Ah, Luke nodded, understandingly. - Arson?

- Nah, Lorelai shook her head. - They just tripped a couple of the girls, one of them twisted her ankle.

- The girl, Luke asked. - She okay?

- Yeah, Lorelai shrugged. - She's fine. Her mom is pampering her as we speak... and you're totally trying to talk yourself out of dancing.

- I don't do spazzy, Luke told her with a pointed look.

- But it's the Bangles, Lorelai pouted. - They're my favorite group, I can't just not dance.

- So go dance, Luke suggested.

- I can't dance on my own, she argued. - It's not fun.

- So get someone else to dance with you.

- Rory left, Sookie's not here, I don't think TJ would let me borrow Liz and the only other person here besides you that I've even talked to is Carrie and I have a feeling she's much more interested in dancing with you than with me, Lorelai reasoned, doing her trademark pout at him. - Please? You promised you'd dance.

- You really want to waste the one dance I promised you on a song that's nearly over, Luke asked, with a raised brow.

- Who said I'm just gonna get one, Lorelai challenged.

- I did.

As the song ended, Lorelai gave up and sunk back down into her chair.

- I hope you enjoyed walking like an Egyptian with the Bangles, Kirk announced over the speaker. - But now we have a couple of guys who really want to show us how it's done.

With that Aerosmith's 'Walk this way' started up. Lorelai turned to look at Luke.

- Forget it, he said, not even meeting her gaze.

- But...

- If the last one wasn't too spazzy, this one certainly is.

- Fine, Lorelai sighed. - Can you get me some more food?

- Now, that I can do, Luke said, getting up from the table.

He returned shortly and the two of them ate and watched as Kirk put the eager dancers through various groups and decades. As 'Too shy' was playing, they observed the minister dancing with one of the creepy flower girls. Lorelai was the one to point out that Carrie had found herself a willing dance partner, which meant she maybe, possibly would leave Luke be, at least for the time being.

- I hope you took much pleasure in Kajagoogoo, Kirk said, as the song faded. - Me thinks Oingo Boingo wilst soon make an appearance. But first, please clear the floor for our happy couple.

The dancers obliged and made way as TJ lead Liz onto the floor. Liz comfortably resting her head on his shoulders as the two swayed from side to side with the music.

- Okay, Lorelai said to Luke. - There's no way you can tell me this song is too spazzy.

- True, Luke agreed. - But it's for the bride and groom, not the rest of us.

- Liz and TJ wouldst enjoy others to join them in their modest wriggles, Kirk announced.

- Give it up, Luke, Lorelai grinned, already getting up. - The fates want you to dance.

Making no further objection, Luke obliged, taking her hand the minute he'd gotten up, leading her to the dance floor, where he slid his free arm around her waist, pulling her a little bit closer to him, so he could get a better hold of her. Lorelai was surprised to discover that with the way Luke pretty much had been set against dancing the whole night, he was not bad at it, like she'd pictured him to be. Far from it. True he glanced down at his feet a couple of times, but other than that he lead her quite easily through a light waltz. They had started off at somewhat of a distance, keeping up appearance as though they were still just friends, nothing more, but as Lorelai couldn't spot Patty or any other of the town gossips around, the gap between them began closing. First with Lorelai sliding her arm behind his shoulder, followed shortly by Luke moving his hand further in on her back, then a little bit more, and a little bit more, until they were so close that it became impossible to keep the waltz up and they were simply swaying from side to side, moving their feet in a semi-waltz-like pattern.

The song ended and 'Kiss from a Rose' took over. Against all odds and Luke's continuously insistence throughout the day that he would only agree to one dance, they remained swaying in the middle of the dance floor. Lorelai grinned in triumph that she'd persuaded him to stay.

- Don't get too cocky, he warned her. - After this one I'm heading back to the table.

- I wouldn't be so sure of that, Lorelai told him. - From what I'm seeing, Carrie's right behind you, waiting to swoop in if you let me go for even one second.

- I'm sure she is, Luke said, sarcastically. - And this isn't at all a ploy to keep me dancing.

Lorelai didn't reply, just waited until they had turned around so he could see for himself.

- Geez, he muttered, as he spotted Carrie observing them with great interesst.

- Told you, Lorelai shrugged.

- I'm never getting off this dance floor, he said, dramatically.

- Oh, I don't know, Lorelai chuckled. - I might possibly feel generous towards the end.

- Just keep the spazz quota down, Luke pleaded.

- That I can't promise.

Luckily for Luke, Kirk had decided to keep the pace slow, at least for now. When they entered their fourth slow song, Lorelai had really begun feeling sorry for him, as Carrie's eyes continued to burn a hole in the back of his head. Each time they turned around and he spotted the woman an 'aw geez' left his lips.

- When is she gonna take a hint, Luke wondered out loud. - I came here with you, I'm dancing with you. Wouldn't most women have walked away by now?

- I don't know if I'd say 'most', Lorelai shrugged. - We are very stubborn creatures, after all, but I've gotta give it to her, she's more persistent than most.

- Do you see any end to it, he asked, desperately.

- We could always up the effort on our end, Lorelai shrugged. - Send her a message?

- How, Luke wanted to know.

- Kiss me, she suggested.

- I very much doubt that'll put her off, Luke replied.

- So you're not gonna do it, she pouted.

- What'd you think, he asked, leaning in, brushing his lips over hers.

Despite how graceful it always looked in the movies, in reality, kissing while dancing proved to be a tad more difficult. With the kiss deepening and neither of them paying any attention to their footwork, Lorelai ended up tripping backwards over Luke's right foot and would've crashed to the ground, if he hadn't had one of his hands firmly planted at her back and reacted quickly enough with the other to hook it around her upper body, thus in a way making it look like he'd leaned her backwards instead of saving her from falling. For a couple of seconds they were in suspended animation, caught up in the moment was like taken out of a movie. Lorelai was immobile, hypnotized by Luke's intense gaze.

- Aren't we having a Rhett and Scarlet moment, Lorelai laughed, as Luke finally pulled her back onto her feet. - Very graceful, don't you think?

- Yes, Luke said, dryly. - Very graceful how you almost fell and cracked your skull.

- At least we got rid of Carrie, she pointed out, as the woman was nowhere to be seen, triumph apparent in her voice. - Does my reward come in shape of another dance?

Unfortunately for her, Kirk had finally moved out of his slow dance mood and changed the track to Oingo Boingo's 'Stay', luring more people back onto the dance floor.

- I'm not dancing to that, Luke told her with a pointed look.

- Then what was the point of rescuing you, Lorelai sighed, rolling her eyes.

- Tell you what, Luke said, as the two of them walked off the dance floor. - We'll catch the next slow one.

- Promise?

- Scout's honor.

- Were you ever in the Scouts? Because if not, it kinda takes the credibility out of it.

- Actually yeah, Luke reluctantly admitted.

- Really, she asked, surprised.

- For about two hours, Luke then added.

Lorelai laughed and swatted his arm playfully, as they made their way back to the buffet. On the way, Lorelai spotted two people necking in the gazebo. She snickered when she realized they were Carrie and the minister.

- Looks like someone got over you fast, babe, she told him, pointing to the gazebo.

- Yup, Luke nodded. - That's Carrie in a nutshell.

- Is that why you guys didn't work out, Lorelai asked, teasingly.

- What, Luke asked, confused. - What are you going on about? Carrie and I were never together.

- That's not what Liz said, Lorelai teased.

- You shouldn't be chatting with Liz so much.

- Why, Lorelai asked. - Afraid she'll let me in on all your embarassing secrets... Butch?

- Because, Luke calmly replied, skillfully ignoring the nickname. - She's clearly putting ideas into your head.

Before Lorelai had any time to respond, Kirk announced over the speaker that it was time for the traditional throwing of the bouquet and garter. Lorelai only joined in for the hell of it. _When in Rome, right?_ And was as surprised as everyone else when the bouquet all but landed in her hands. When TJ's tights, which he decided to throw instead of Liz's garter, flew in the direction of Luke, Lorelai began to wonder if maybe, possibly the couple had singled them out. However as Luke's initial reaction had been to duck, Lorelai ended up having to pose for the traditional future bride and groom to be picture with TJ's brother instead.

Kirk returned to his DJ duties, but to Lorelai's disappointment, none of the songs had a low enough spazz quota for Luke to agree to dance to, so when Liz and TJ finally took off for the wedding night and Luke offered to walk her home, Lorelai accepted. They took twice as long as usual to reach Lorelai's house, as they simply took their time as they chattered away about the wedding. When they reached her front porch, she turned to face him.

- I had a really good time, tonight, she told him.

- Good, Luke replied, wrapping his arms around her waist. - Me too.

She smiled and tipped up on her toes, despite being tall enough not having to do it, planting a soft kiss on his lips. As Luke met the kiss, Lorelai opened her mouth, inviting him to deepen the kiss. An invitation he took without question. As air became an issue, seeing as there was only so long one could focus on breathing through ones nose without getting dizzy, they separated their lips, but remained close.

- So, Luke muttered, in a throaty voice. - What time are you picking up William?

- Noon, she replied.

She bit her lip, nervously, sliding out of his arms, backing slowly towards the door, as she took his hands and finally asked.

- Do you wanna come in?

TBC

_AN: For those interessted; a smutty continuance of this chapter can be found in my smut-series: "Dirty Comfort"_


	88. Deja Vu

AN: One very important thing I forgot to mention when I updated last; I've finally managed to compile a picture of baby William, the link can be found in my profile. Feel free to check it out. Sorry this is a short chapter, but the next one's longer. As always, great thanks to my beta, Steph. You're my shining star and all that other cliché stuff ;)

AN2: I'm dedicating this chapter to the great people on the JJ thread at FanForum, it's so nice to have a place where I get so much emotional support as you guys give. Thank you so, so much. I love all of you!

**smileyGGfan** - You're back:D And here's a well-deserved shoutout for you: Aww, I hope your net will be fixed soon. And I agree with the cancellation and the dangling of the season 8, I had something similar happening to me just now (see the bottom AN) and adding that with the GG cancellation I feel like my life's shit right now and I've just hit rock bottom. Heard about the season 8 project, would've offered to help out if I wasn't so tied up by CF. I'm glad you liked the kiss and the fall, those were some of my favorite moments for the chapter as well :) Hope you don't disappear on me again now.

**gilmorian** - Nice to put a screenname with the nick (would've said "face with the name", but that wouldn't be correct now would it). Jealous Lorelai? I can't say for sure if we'll see her anytime soon. Maybe, maybe not. We'll see. Yeah, I know what you mean about the Rory/Jess storyline. She's really not that interessting for me to write, but to have a realistic story I have to include her a lot, but it will remain a side-line storyline, just getting attention when it's important enough. And yes, the DC chapters will not contain any information that's vital to the storyline and if they do, it will be mentioned in CF as well.

**bloodymary2** - Thanks for at least beginning to catch up. Gonna see what I can do about the third POV request. Maybe I will find a suitable place to do it, maybe not. We'll see. Anyways, hope you catch up fully soon.

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - Got your PM and I really hope your computer gets fixed soon so I can see you around more.

**Copop** & **Nubes** - Miss Patty was nowhere to be seen and she was the only gossiper in town present at the wedding. So the kiss was mostly seen by out-of-townspeople.

**Severien** - You're welcome on DC, I love the response I got for it :) And I agree about what you said about LL dancing. That, for me, is also the most romantic moment the two has shared :)

* * *

There was an odd feeling of deja vu as she woke up. A silly thought to be having as of course she'd been there before. It was the same bedroom she'd been sleeping in for years. The bed was the very same that she'd bought when she'd finally saved up enough for a house, only the mattress was now perfectly shaped to fit her body. The sheets were the same ones she'd put on the bed just last Sunday, yet somehow they felt different at the same time. She stretched out her arms, legs and back and was suddenly aware of Luke's arm snaked around her body, her very _naked_ body one might add. _That explains why the sheets felt different._ In her groggy state it had taken her a minute to remember yesterday, but as she opened her eyes and saw Luke's face semi-buried in the edge of the pillow that probably had started out as a shared project, but sometime during the night, she'd grabbed it all for herself; the memories of last night came rushing back. She let her hand run over the back of her head, discovering a tiny bump, just as she'd predicted she'd get. Luke's shoulder still bore her bite mark, though it was a little more faded.

This morning made her think about a similar morning over a year ago. It was so similar, but so very different at the same time. Sure, she had once again, against all odds, managed to wake up before the early riser that answered to the name of Luke Danes; but this time there was no confusion, no lack of memories, no urge to bolt. No, this time she was going to see what it was like to wake up in her lover's arms. She was gonna stroke his cheek, softly, with her index finger and see how long she could do this before he'd wake up. She was gonna kiss him good morning and ignore every ounce of morning breath the two of them had accumulated throughout the night.

She was going to go into the diner, order coffee and some food, just like any other day, while sending the proprietor many suggestive looks, all of them saying; 'I now know what you look like naked'. She was gonna go and pick up William and see exactly how long it would take Sookie to notice her glow and ask her if she'd done something dirty. No matter what inn related business she'd have to take care of today, she was gonna do it all with a secretive smile, thinking of last night the whole time.

Luke spoiled her first plan, by opening his eyes before she got time to even finish her trail of thoughts.

- Morning, he murmured, his voice, more raspy than usual, still carrying traces of sleep.

Following her plan, she leaned over and brushed her lips over his, lingering for a couple of seconds before breaking off.

- Morning, she replied, a goofy happy smile on her face.

- What time is it?

She turned her head, glancing over at her alarm clock.

- Six, she replied, amazed that she felt this awake at such an ungodly time of day. - What time do you need to be at the diner?

- I asked Ceasar to open, he replied.

- Just in case you got lucky, Lorelai asked, teasingly.

- In case the wedding went on forever and I over-slept, Luke corrected.

- Sure, you did, she chuckled.

- I promised him I'd be down by eight, though, Luke continued, ignoring her remark. - Liz's friends are all still in town until this afternoon, so I wouldn't be surprised if there was even a bigger rush than usual.

- In other words, you'd rather go to the diner with Ceasar, serving the Renaissance 'nuts' breakfast, than spend the morning in bed with your girlfriend, she said, finishing off with a pout.

- What time do you need to be at the inn, he countered.

Lorelai sighed. He was right. The test run was this Saturday. She still had to prep the staff, pick up comment cards and nag at Tom some more about the doors he'd been saying were coming for the past two weeks, but so far had failed to produce. She had to check on the kitchen every now and then, just to make sure Sookie didn't go overboard or tried to add an extra dessert to the menu, or changing the menu in general. She had to find someone to polish the saddles and clean out stables, maybe even do it herself, while she looked for someone to permanently give the task of looking after the horses. To sum it up, if there was anyone who didn't have time to waste their morning away in bed, it was her.

- I'm heading over to Sookie's right after I've showered and then we're going straight to the inn after breakfast.

- Are you stopping by the diner for lunch, Luke wanted to know.

- Lunch really depends on how many crises I have to handle, Lorelai shrugged. - But I'll be there for dinner, definitely.

- Good, he stated, kissing her. - You have a lot left to do?

- Some, she shrugged. - There's always a lot of little things that pop up at the last minute.

- Let me know if there's anything I can do.

- Well, one can say you've been a big help in relaxing me, she pointed out, grinning suggestively.

- Happy to do it, he replied.

- Dirty, she teased.

He chuckled and brushed some stray hairs out of her face.

- Hey, she suddenly said. - You're coming to the test run, right?

- Sure, he nodded. - I RSVP'd.

- Just checking, she grinned.

- Hey, I don't know if you've already made arrangements or not, but you know, I could look after William while you play hostess this weekend, Luke suggested.

- Really?

- Yeah, he shrugged. - I mean, it's up to you. I just thought I'd put the offer on the table, so you don't have to worry about what to do with him.

- Angel, she sighed, happily.

- Hardly, he responded, kissing her.

- Statue ten feet high, she murmured between the kisses.

The kisses deepened and Lorelai began to feel certain parts of his body responding to her touch.

- Round two, she asked.

- I have to shower, he said, hinting to the time.

- Okay, she muttered, slightly disappointed. - Will you make me coffee before you go?

- Well, I was hoping you'd join me, he hinted.

This brought her smile right back.

- Hmm, she mock-pondered. - Will you still make me coffee afterwards?

- What do you think, he asked, raising his brows.

- Lead the way.

TBC

_AN: I really, really hope you will forgive me for not giving you a DC chapter following this one. I was planning on writing it if the first one was a success, but then real life happened. I went to see this great place, my dream place and I was gonna find out yesterday if I got it or not and I was so nervous the entire day I was completely unable to write and I'm kinda an emotional wreck right now, because even though it seemed to me that the people liked me, I haven't heard anything, so I've probably not gotten it; which hurts real bad, because no other place is gonna compare to it. I promise to make up for it later on. It was the choice between waiting even longer to update and updating now. I hope I made the right choice._


	89. Wrong side of Murphy's bed

AN: Ok, first thank you for the support guys, but I didn't get the apartment. I got the confirmation like an hour after posting the last chapter. Yes, I'm disappointed, devastated and I shed quite a lot of tears about it, but I have no other choice but to deal, so I'm just gonna move on and continue searching, despite my faith in finding a place lessening with every viewing I attend. Nothing's gonna give me the same feeling that place did, but damnit I'm gonna find a place. At least now I know where I'm gonna look some years into the future when I finally buy a place. Moving on... how many of you guys saw the Eurovision song contest this year? Who were your favorites. Mine were Slovenia and Serbia, so yay! Serbia won! As usual, great big thanks to Steph for the beta.

AN2: Exam time starts now (last time I'm gonna have exams... eek, scary!), so in case it takes me longer time to update in the coming weeks, it will be because of the exams, the apartment and job hunt, not to mention the moving. I will do everything I can to write those weeks, just be a little patient with me when it comes to updating. When June starts coming to an end you can nag at me some more ;)

AN3: Since it's Ace's birthday I thought it was only appropriate to dedicate this chapter to her. Ace, are you still reading? lol

**MissDeLys** - Look everyone it's my Danish twin... lol, at least we have a lot in common ;) Ah, how I love being introduced to new reviewers. Thank you so much for writing a review, despite hating doing it. It really means a lot to me. Wow on the stuff we have in common, next thing you're telling me you're a Simon/Kaylee shipper as well... lol And hey, if it makes you feel more comfortable, you could always write your reviews in Danish. I have Danish friends on MSN and have so far never had problems understanding what they've written. _Takk for kommentaren, håper å høre fra deg igjen._

**Copop** - I'll try to work in a shower scene later on, how's that?

**sarahb2007** - Thanks for the kind words. I'm definitely not moving out of the city, I just can't. I love this place too much and I'm planning on getting a job here. This is my home, I just need a place for my stuff now... lol I love how supportive my online friends are, so far I've gotten offers to move in with people in Poland and the UK.. lol.

**Caffeination** - To answer your question, some things will be beyond my control, but do you really think after everything this story has done that my "season five" will take the same direction as the show? Stay tuned, there's a lot coming ;)

* * *

The whole day up until noon had been one major disaster. William had woken her up in the middle of the night, crying from what couldn't be anything else than a nightmare. She tried the jiggle and the bouncy and every other baby technique she knew and nothing would cut it. Nursing calmed him down, but he just wouldn't go back to sleep. It wasn't until she tried lying down with him, that he finally fell asleep and by that time she was too exhausted to even carry him back to his crib and fell asleep right there with him.

When she'd woken up after that, she'd been overcome with the feeling that she'd overslept. The clock had been set to buzz at seven, only as a precaution since William usually woke her up by six, but if she knew her Murphy right, it only fit that today of all days was the one where he slept until eight or nine. She felt far too rested for it to be before seven. The room was a tad too bright and just a glance at the clock on her nightstand, telling her it was ten to five was enough for her to believe all was not quite right in Whoville. It didn't make much sense that the clock had stopped as she'd put in a new battery just last week. A second glance, however, told her everything she needed to know; the clock was still running, it was just running backwards.

To say the least, when she'd finally made it to the inn, she was late, aggravated, her knee hurt from smashing into the dresser as she'd been trying to pick out clothes to wear and she was really in need of a cup of coffee as Murphy had also decided to break her trusty coffee maker. To make matters worse, the doors were still missing, Sookie had yet to figure out which two on her kitchen staff to fire and Rory didn't arrive to help out until after William had spit up on Lorelai's shirt, forcing her go upstairs to change into the only other outfit she'd brought. As they got closer and closer to the guest's arrival time, Lorelai got more and more stressed. Then in the last minute, just as Michel announced that the guests were arriving, Tom let her know the doors were finally on their way.

Albeit the only problem that really had been resolved were the doors, still as she watched the carts circling the driveway, the guests eagerly pointing and chatting, something in her just clicked and the inner voice that had been screaming all morning that this was all going to hell, suddenly changed its tone and told her that everything was gonna be alright. With the exception of Taylor, the guests had nothing to complain about and even Taylor's nitpicking couldn't find anything worse than the front door not completely matching the decorative integrity of the inn. Even the way the guests were led to their rooms by Tom's workers carrying their door seemed to be a hit; for Patty especially, who didn't seem able to pry her eyes away from the guy's butt the whole time it took him to set it up.

By the time Luke arrived, most of the more intrusive Stars Hollow residents were either upstairs changing into their dinner attire or hanging out in the dining room; some of them talking, others just admiring the renovations of the place. Lulu had managed to convince Kirk to come horseback riding with her, despite Kirk's rather uncomfortable relationship with the animal. Lorelai had thought it better to be safe than sorry and asked Jeremy, the bell boy who was also serving as a temporary stable boy for the moment, just until Lorelai could find someone to take the job permanently, to assist them. This left the area around the registration desk free from prying eyes.

- Hey, he said, walking up to the desk.

Lorelai looked around and noticed that the area was for the time being completely secluded and leaned forward, tapping her lips, hinting to him that she wanted him to kiss her. Luke obliged and brushed his lips over hers, just for a couple of seconds, before stepping back.

- Right back at ya, she replied, grinning.

- How are things going so far, he wanted to know.

- Considering the fact that I woke up on the wrong side of Murphy's bed this morning, I'd say pretty well.

- And if your morning had gone more according to plan, Luke asked.

- Still pretty damn good, she grinned. - Everyone seems happy and content. If you ignore Taylor's input on the few historical glitches with the place, I haven't heard a single complaint yet. The only thing I really worry about is that one of Tom's guys might file a sexual harassment charge against Miss Patty for accidentally pinching his butt while he was putting in her door.

- In other words, all is right with the world, Luke chuckled.

- Pretty much, she nodded. - So where were you? I thought you knew this thing started at noon.

- I got held up at the diner, he shrugged. - Ceasar needed to do some kind of an errand before the stores closed, I don't know what, but since I was gonna be gone the rest of the day, I offered to look after things for him while he was gone. He ended up taking an hour, go figure.

- Hence you smelling like burgers and coffee, Lorelai chuckled.

- Geez, Luke muttered. - I'm gonna change before dinner. These are for you, by the way.

He handed her a small bouquet of roses, tulips and a couple of flowers she didn't know the name of, but were beautiful nonetheless.

- Oh, wow, she muttered, softly, completely overwhelmed by the gesture. - Luke, you really didn't have to...

- It's a big day for you, he shrugged. - Someone should mark the occasion.

- You have no idea how close I am to asking Rory to have William sleep in our room so I can show you exactly how grateful I am, she told him.

- Speaking of, Luke said. - Where is William?

- Hey mom, Rory said, coming down the stairs. - I just put William down for his nap.

- Well, Lorelai shrugged, laughing mildly as she accepted the baby monitor from Rory, passing it on to Luke. - There's your answer.

- Which room, he asked.

- You're in room number seven, Lorelai answered.

- And William?

- Rory, Lorelai asked, turning towards her daughter. - You put William in room seven, right?

- Yep, the girl nodded.

Luke gave both of them a confused look, to which Lorelai shrugged.

- I thought it'd be easier if you didn't have to run up to mine and Rory's room the whole evening, she explained, then lowered her voice slightly. - Plus, I was thinking I'd sneak over once everyone's in bed.

- Daughter present, Rory stated, hinting to her mother that this wasn't a conversation she needed to hear.

- Please, like I'd subject my son to that, Lorelai countered, amused. - Get your mind out of the gutter, missy.

- He was thinking it, too, Rory shrugged, pointing to Luke's raised brows, before heading off in the direction of the dining room.

Lorelai glanced over at Luke, who now seemed a bit flustered and she wondered if it came from what Rory just pointed out or the fact that she'd pointed it out. He shrugged and pointed in the direction of the staircase.

- I better...

- Yeah, she nodded. - I'll see you at dinner.

Lorelai wanted to follow him up the stairs and greet him properly, but as it would look a tad to suspicious if she did, she opted to get a vase for the flowers instead, before resuming her role as hostess for the evening. The afternoon went off without much of a hitch. Taylor submitted another comment card, this time focusing on just his room; the sheets being off-white and not white, the bedding being slightly mussed, the minibar not offering a selection of chocolates appropriate for those with milk or nut allergies. Even Kirk managed to return from his and Lulu's horseback endeavors without any problems, though she did think he was walking kinda funny... then again, it was Kirk.

When it was time for dinner, Lorelai made sure to fetch the two high chairs she and Sookie had bought and placed them at one of the bigger tables, instructing Derek, the waiter to seat Rory, Jackson and Luke at that specific table, figuring it would look less suspicious if both babies sat together. Once the instructions had been given, she went to the kitchen to check on Sookie who was minutes away from paper bagging it, as her kitchen crew still was picture perfect and got more and more stressed over having to fire two workers who'd done nothing wrong.

Having not eaten for a couple of hours, she grabbed one of the spare salads and started munching, surprisingly enjoying it.

- Should I worry that you just helped yourself to my salad, Sookie asked with a raised brow.

- You tell me, Lorelai shrugged. - I have no need for salad in my life, ever, but this one here's amazing.

- Okay, as much as I love your praise, that sounds a bit weird coming from you, Sookie laughed, shaking her head. - Oooh, hey, maybe you're pregnant?

- Oh, no, Lorelai chuckled. - As much as I love William, I'm in no hurry to give him siblings anytime soon. I think what we're having here is a classic case of me not having eaten anything since breakfast and hunger being the best chef.

Sookie gave her a pointed look.

- Second to you, Lorelai corrected, earning herself a satisfied grin from the bubbly chef.

- Alright, Michel said as he entered the room. - I just checked on the backup generators and everything's fine.

- Did you see if the stable door's locked, Lorelai asked. - Sophie told me that Cletus has a thing for pulling a Houdini.

- The doors are locked, Michel confirmed.

- Great, Lorelai smiled, taking one last bite of the salad. - I'm gonna go and make the rounds.

Lorelai didn't want to be too obvious and started off checking in on Tom and two of his workers, who were taking up the table closest to the kitchen and complimented him on his suit. Babette and Miss Patty's table was the natural second choice; both women had decided to attend dinner in their robes. Lorelai was suddenly grateful they had ordered the thick and solid kind.

- Hi girls, she greeted them. - How's everything this evening?

- Oh, you know us, Patty said, absentmindedly, tilting her head. - We're just enjoying the view.

- Yeah, Babette chimed in. - There's something phenomenally hot about men with babies.

Lorelai followed their eyes and saw what they were looking at; Jackson and Luke feeding Davey and William the mashed vegetables Jackson had brought from home, the sight almost too adorable to describe with words.

- He's really good with kids, that one, Patty hinted, her brows raised suggestively, as Luke used the spoon to wipe some of the food that had stuck itself to William's chin.

Lorelai chuckled inwardly, the irony of Patty trying to set her up with Luke not lost on her.

- Yeah, she acknowledged. - He's not bad.

Her heart sunk in her chest as the thought of how natural Luke had entered the father role for William, when he had yet to learn the truth about his own son, entered her mind. However, not wanting the two nosy women asking questions, she quickly got a grip on herself.

- Well, she shrugged. - I should probably continue with the rounds, so if there's anything...

- We're set, dear, Patty assured her.

- Yeah, Babette chimed in. - But remind me later to ask you where you got these robes.

- I'll do that, Lorelai nodded, leaving the table.

She headed straight for the high chair, where William sat.

- Hi, baby, she cooed, placing a kiss on her son's head.

William, who hadn't seen his mother since before his nap, waved his little arms and kicked his little feet in excitement, making it difficult for him to accept the spoonful of food Luke was trying to give him. As the boy was more set on focusing on her, Lorelai grabbed a spare chair and took over the bowl and spoon from Luke, feeding the baby the remaining food.

- Mmmm, William said, closing his eyes, raising his shoulders, his entire body language loudly telling them that he liked the food.

- Wow, Jackson, Lorelai praised, while wiping the remaining food from William's face. - Looks like your homemade food's a definite success.

- I just grew the vegetables, Jackson shrugged, modestly.

- Be proud, Lorelai told him. - You won a Gilmore over to the vegetable cause, there's no grander victory than that.

As she heard herself say 'Gilmore', the sinking feeling was back. _Danes_, she thought. It was supposed to be 'Danes'.

- Jackson, I love that shirt, she said, changing the subject.

- Isn't it great, Jackson babbled on, neither him or Luke noticing her change of expression. - It's an anniversary gift from Sookie.

- Sweet, huh, Rory chimed in. - These two kids.

- I got to tell you, Jackson continued. - I was completely surprised. I figured, with the test run and everything, she'd be way too busy to remember.

Lorelai chuckled, knowing very well that Sookie wouldn't've remembered if she hadn't congratulated her on it a few days back.

- What are you talking about, she asked, playing surprised. - Sookie could never forget her mushroom man.

- I'd love her to forget that nickname though, Jackson muttered under his breath.

- The food's great, mom, Rory praised.

- It really is, Luke agreed, looking up. - The salad especially.

She didn't know if it was because of Patty's comment, seeing him with William or something else, but as their gazes locked, she literally found herself unable to move or say anything.

- Although, Rory continued, not noticing the couple exchanging glances. - I know the chef, so I'm a little biased.

- _You're_ a little biased, Jackson asked, raising his brows. - I'm sleeping with her.

- You also grew the vegetables, Rory pointed out.

- That's right, Jackson realized. - I can't be trusted at all.

- I, Lorelai said, breaking the spell. - I should probably continue the rounds.

She gave William another kiss on the head before moving over to see if Taylor, Kirk or Lulu needed anything, before returning to the kitchen. As dinner and then dessert had been served, Lorelai, Sookie and Michel sat themselves down at the island in the middle of the kitchen and ate. It was more and more coming apparent for them that the weekend was a success, which meant this dream that had started out so many moons ago was actually becoming reality. As the night progressed the guests took advantage of the rather large collection of board games that Lorelai and Sookie had stumbled over at a 'going out of business' sale over in Hartford a couple of months back.

When Lorelai came out to check on things, she saw William rub his eyes and yawn, signaling that he was tired. Luke gathered the toys the boy had scattered around, got up and lifted the baby up from his chair just as Kirk loudly announced that he was going to bed, making sure to signal for Luke to follow as he passed him. Lorelai chuckled and made a mental note to remind herself to ask Luke what all that had been about. She made her way over to Rory who was currently playing Backgammon with Tom.

- Hey, how's it going here, she asked them.

- She's letting me win, Tom responded. - It's very annoying.

Lorelai chuckled.

- Is there anything you want, Rory wondered.

- Why? Do I have to want something?

- No, Rory shrugged. - You just have 'something-face', so I thought I'd check.

- Ok, so there's something, Lorelai admitted. - I was wondering if you could run home and grab some CDs. I was going to have them in case the guests wanted to play something in their rooms, but totally forgot to bring them this morning, when I overslept. Just pick a general collection, nothing too 'out there'. Ten to twenty CDs should do the trick.

- Sure, Rory shrugged. - No problem. I'm almost done here anyway, so I'll run home right after.

- Thanks hon, Lorelai grinned. - You're a life saver.

The dining room began to empty little by little. Rory left and returned an hour later with a large stack of CDs that she placed on an empty book shelf, before helping her mom clear up the games that were still scattered about the tables. Soon Rory excused herself to go to bed and Lorelai took one last round of checking all the downstairs rooms, before letting herself retire as well. When she reached the lobby she spotted Luke sitting in one of the recliners, reading a book she eventually recognized to be Frank Herbert's 'Dune'.

- Hey, she said, softly. - You're still up?

- Just thought I'd wait for you, he shrugged, putting the book away. - William's out cold. He fell asleep before his head hit the pillow.

- Well, she shrugged. - He's had a long day.

- He's not the only one, Luke pointed out as Lorelai involuntarily let out a yawn.

- I've had a long couple of weeks, she chuckled, lightly. - A lot of stress, little sleep, the works.

- Anything I can do, Luke wondered.

Lorelai gave him an amused expression.

- I didn't mean _that_, he pointed out, shaking his head. - I meant, tomorrow, when all of this is done; I could always look after William for you if you need to rest up.

- It's really not necessary, she said, not wanting him to feel like he had to. - I'm good, I promise. You really don't have to.

- What if I want to, Luke challenged.

Lorelai's heart gave a little jump as he said it.

- Luke, she asked, unsure.

- No, hear me out, Luke pleaded, not really waiting for an answer. - I know you think I'm doing this just to help you and yes, I do want to help. But I'm not just putting up with him because he's your son and it comes with the territory. I want you to know I really care about William, not because you and he are a package deal, but because he's a great kid. I know I'm not exactly known to be the most kid-friendly guy in the world and most kids still frustrate me to no end, but William's different. When he cries I know what to do; if he makes a mess it doesn't bother me. I like the way he trusts me, the way he laughs; I like that his favorite toy in the world is the stupid stuffed bunny I bought him. Liz pointed out to me that I'm playing 'dad' and she's right. I love him like a dad would and I want to be there for him like a dad would.

When Lorelai heard the word 'dad' escape his lips, her throat dried up like a desert. She wanted to say something, but had the feeling that Luke wasn't quite done yet.

- This here isn't just casual for me, Luke continued. - This thing we're doing here, you, me and William. I want you to know that I'm in. I am all in.

Lorelai stood frozen, not really sure she'd heard him say what he'd just said. If there ever was a time...

- Lorelai, Luke said, asking, trying to establish eye contact with her.

- Wow, she finally croaked, barely audible. - I guess this is just a day of confessions.

- What, he asked, softly, his voice filled with confusion. - Lorelai?

This was it. This was the moment where the truth would be revealed. There was no turning back. He was expecting her to say at least something and she was running out of ways of escaping this conversation that they really ought've had back when she'd first realized she was pregnant; in fact they should've talked about that night before it even got that far. Luke should've gotten the chance to actually suspect that the boy was his. Right now any reason she'd given herself for holding back, just no longer made sense anymore. They sounded more like excuses to put off a confrontation that would only get worse the longer she postponed it. And all she'd really accomplished was to keep a father from knowing he had a son.

- I have to tell you something, she continued, her voice slightly uneven. - But before I do, I need you to keep an open mind, or at least let me finish talking before you say anything. I probably don't deserve it, but I need to get it all off my chest in one go.

- Lorelai, he asked, unsure.

- Please, she begged. - Just promise you won't interrupt.

- Yeah, sure, he said, his voice filled with concern.

The worst thing was how gentle and assuring his voice was, as though he was prepared to comfort her, take care of her, hold her tight and let her know it was all alright. He just had no idea the hurt she was about to lay on him. _Please don't hate me_, she begged inwardly.

- Remember that night I came by the diner and I was a bit out of it?

He looked at her a bit puzzled and she realized she had to give him something more specific, as the description she'd given him so far could apply to a myriad of nights.

- It was when I came from the hospital after seeing Chris' daughter be born, she elaborated.

He thought for a couple of seconds before nodding, signaling to her that he was following her trail of thought. She swallowed hard as she noticed how dry and un-cooperative her throat had become just this last minute.

- I have no idea how many shots of Tequila either one of us had that night, she continued. - I don't know who said what or did what. My memory pretty much ended after that second shot. I did wake up at the foot of my bed that morning, but that's where the truth ends. I know how I got there, because that's where I ran off to after waking up in your bed... with you... naked... or I was at least, I wasn't sure if you were, because I didn't stay around to check. But now I know you had to have been. I meant to talk to you about this, eventually, but I panicked and then afterwards I was just too embarrassed to say anything. I was relieved that you didn't remember anything, either, because I thought that meant I could just put it behind me and pretend like nothing happened. It was wrong of me not to say anything, but I can't go back and change it.

She took a deep breath, holding up her hands to signal to him that she wasn't done, as he looked as though he wanted to answer. He honored his promise and kept his mouth shut, waiting for her to continue.

- You know I wasn't exactly the biggest fan of your relationship with Nicole, but since I had chickened out of saying anything for so long, I thought it was best to just let it go. That I'd only end up doing more damage by saying something than by shutting up. Whether or not that was the right choice is for the judges to decide, because I'm still not sure. But the minute I found out I was pregnant, I should've told you. I know these things aren't exactly what you tell someone about on a trans-Atlantic call, but I should've done that. I just needed time to process and I kept telling myself that it was better if I did it face to face, anyway. I can't give you a good enough excuse for why I kept this from you for as long as I did. All I can do is tell you how sorry I am. I'm sorry I didn't make that call. I'm sorry I ran off when Patty told me you were married, that I waited for your divorce to be final, for chickening out when Nicole returned and for the million other times that I could've told you, but didn't. I'm sorry for each and every time the subject of William's dad came up and I avoided it, I'm sorry I let you believe I had to raise him on my own instead of it being my choice, I'm sorry I chose it in the first place. I'm sorry I named him William without telling you why. I'm sorry his stupid birth certificate says 'Gilmore' and that your name isn't even on it. I'm just sorry, Luke. I'm so sorry.

Unable to just stand there and wait for him to reply, she wrapped her arms around herself, making no move to neither approach or back off. She didn't look him in the eye. From the moment she'd said the word 'pregnant', she'd refused to meet his gaze, knowing that if she did, she wouldn't be able to finish saying everything she needed to say. She was panting, trying to catch her breath, having said the whole thing with the fewest possible intakes of breath. Her voice was hoarse, but she kept herself from clearing it, as she just wanted to give him the opportunity to digest what she'd just told him. But as she heard nothing from him, she began feeling suffocated by the silence. She looked up to see an unreadable expression on his face.

- Luke, she asked.

Luke snapped out of his daze and looked at her for a moment. She waited and waited for him to snap, for him to air his frustration, his anger, his anything with her, but he didn't say anything. He got up and headed towards the front door. She wouldn't say he was running, but his pace was fast and determined. He was almost through the door before she reacted and ran after him. Once outside, she called out to him.

- _Luke!_

He stopped dead in his tracks, but didn't turn around or do anything else to acknowledge her. There were so many questions floating around in her head. Did he hate her now? Had he changed his mind about being 'all in'? Was the reason he was leaving because he couldn't stand to look at her anymore?

- Luke, she tried again, her voice quivering. - Luke, say something.

- Not now, Lorelai, he simply replied, sounding almost defeated, as though she'd just delivered a solid punch to his gut.

- Luke, please, she begged.

- Not now, he said again, his voice considerably harsher. - I can't do this.

With that he began walking away. She wanted to follow, to explain, to get any kind of reaction out of him that wasn't silence. But she couldn't abandon her son... their son, who was sleeping upstairs in room number seven, blissfully ignorant to what had just gone down with his parents. So, she couldn't leave. Instead she wrapped her arms further around her body, letting the tears, that had been threatening to spill ever since Luke got up to leave, finally run down her cheeks, as she watched him disappear down the road leading back into town.

- No, she muttered, barely audible.

She sunk down on the steps, suddenly lacking the energy to even stand up. She stared in the direction of where Luke had just vanished, paying no attention to anything. She didn't hear the wind rustle the leaves, nor did she notice when two stray cats got into a fight over by the stables. She didn't even look up when Kirk came running past her, stark naked, a pillow being the only thing covering his essentials and screaming like a maniac. All she could think about were Luke's last words before he left; _'I can't do this'_.

- No, she repeated.

TBC


	90. Dear Lorelai

AN: Ok, wow. First I just want to point out that you guys just set a mindblowing review record for me; 58 reviews for one chapter. I'm astounded and incredibly happy. This is more than I've got on whole series I've written, so thank you guys so much. Secondly, well, the apartment hunt is still undecided for me, but I just found one more aspect of my life that parallell Rory's; I just got an incredible job offer that I've of course accepted. The pay is incredible, the hours are flexible and the type of job is right in my alley. Lady luck has begun to grace my life again. So, okay, I'm devastated that LL only got a kiss and that was that. DR better hope he never, ever runs into me on his travels, I'm serious. I'm pretty much ready to cut certain things off his body for tormenting us for so long and then take our reward away from us like that. Seriously, what was with the camera panning away so quickly? I mean, when you only are gonna give us a kiss, then damnit, you better give us more than two seconds of it! And CW replacing GG's timeslot with a reality show? You know what? I'm glad, actually, cause now CW will go down into the muck where they belong. You don't cancel your best shows and expect to do well. - As usual, a big cheer times three for my beta, Steph! 

**rollsdownhill** - I have long reviews for breakfast with strawberries and sugar on, yum! In other words - long reviews are definitely something I love. I do however think that any award ceremony I'd attend would have better music playing than MC Hammer... lol 

**delen2000** - I don't necessarily think he forgave Anna quickly for what she did. It was more of an insecurity thing, where he wondered why she never told him and how he was gonna manage being a dad. He was more focused on April than on Anna. What's different with this situation, other than the age of the kid, is his relationship with Lorelai. It both makes it better and worse at the same time, if you know what I mean. 

**flcrkr** - I too wonder why Luke had been placed at the same table as Babette and Miss Patty. Maybe the two women insisted on it, who knows... lol 

**Kinofille** - Gotta say, I'm amazed you continued reading, if the idea bothered you so much. Glad that you liked the chapter, though. 

**sophiejune** - Congratulations on your granddaughter :) 

**gilmorian** - The timing was definitely not on purpose, it just happened that way. I love how you point out the smaller things. They tend to disappear in the crowd, so it's nice to see people notice :) And your description of your feelings for Lorelai was exactly what I was going for, sympathy for her, some understanding with a big dose of "she made her own bed". 

**Cinny72** - Don't worry too much, I only do angst when I have to. 

**Copop** - I loved your interractive feedback with your thoughts as you were reading. It put a big smile on my face. And here's a cleenex to dry your tears. 

**MissDeLys** - I'm confused, would I get brownie points for guessing where the quote was from or for finding a quote somewhere in your review? Because I'm at a loss... lol 

**CrimsonScarz** - No, Rory didn't sleep with Dean. That was one of the things I went out of my way to change. I had no Dean build-up at all in my story, plus she wouldn't cheat on Jess. She has no reason to. I seriously thought Rory went on a downward spiral from the end of season 4 and onwards. I'm not saying it's because of Dean or Logan, I think she alone is responsible for messing up her life, just as Dean and Logan are responsible for what they did with theirs.

* * *

Lorelai woke up that morning with a headache. She had made it back to room number seven, keeping up appearances in case she ran into guests, but the minute the door closed behind her, she'd let the tears fall freely. She knew he would be angry. Luke had blown up in her face for much less than this, so she'd expected anger, relied on it even. Verbal confrontations were her thing, they were easy. They were for the mind what stretching was for the body. You could say everything you wanted in a fight, it was heated and passionate and left everything out in the open to be dealt with. Silence was the real killer. She kept wondering what he was thinking. If he was angrier about her keeping it a secret or how long she'd kept it secret. Would he come back during the night? Or the next morning at least to get his things? Would he talk to her if he did? 

She hadn't gone directly to bed at first, instead she'd hovered over the crib for a while, watching her son's chest rise and fall in a steady rhythm. Ever since he learned to roll, she had gotten accustomed to finding him in the strangest positions, the favorite being his tiny body lying at the foot of the bed, his legs rested up against the side of it, the bunny lying across his face. Every time she found him like this, she gently moved the stuffed animal to the side, just as a precaution so he wouldn't suffocate and to make it possible for her to stroke his cheek. No matter how messed up things were and how many secrets and lies she wanted to erase from her bio, she was glad that night happened, because she couldn't imagine her life without William. Watching her baby sleep, she silently confessed to him that she'd screwed up, only vocally she substituted 'screwed' with 'messed'. 

If there was one thing she'd learned from Rory growing up it was that kids learned words a bit too easily. She still had the vivid memory of her toddler who, after witnessing mommy banging her head on the dresser while searching for that other shoe the girl had kicked across the room, got a bit too fond of one of the colorful words that had escaped her mothers mouth in the heat of the moment. Of course Rory had no idea it was a bad word and therefore didn't know you weren't supposed to say this in front of the other maids, the concierge at the front desk, the snob of a head chef that Mia had just hired or that nice old couple in room nine who was celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary that weekend. Lorelai hadn't been able to look Mia in the eyes for days afterwards. So she was a bit more careful with what she said around kids. William might still be a bit young to pick up on words, but she felt one could never be too careful. 

Although her head objected loudly to her getting out of bed, she sat up and looked around the room. It looked the same as it had when she'd gone to bed. Luke's flannel was still draped over the chair alongside the pair of pants he'd worn the day before. On the desk right next to it his trademark blue cap was sitting. As she looked at the cap, she was hit by a sudden bad feeling; how was Luke gonna open the diner without his cap? She shook her head at the silly notion. Of course Luke didn't need the hat to run the diner. It held no magic powers. It hadn't even been that expensive. Five bucks over at 'Finish Line'. There'd been a black one which had been cheaper, but the blue would bring out his eyes more. And she'd been right. The hat was really just a hat, but she'd gotten so accustomed to seeing him every day in the diner wearing that hat, that it felt weird to imagine him suddenly not wearing it. 

William was still being quiet. She wasn't sure if it meant he was still sleeping or if he was busying himself with exploring his toes or something to that effect. She wasn't overly fond of the portable crib, as the only way she could find out if her son was awake or if she could rest her eyes for a couple of more minutes, was to actually get out of bed and walk over to it. She pulled the covers aside and let her bare feet touch the floor, making a note to herself to have the maids put the slippers right next to the bed for easy access as the floors felt chilly. She crossed the floor and peered down into the crib, confirming that her baby boy was awake. As he seemed content for the time being, sucking his thumb while clutching one of Bunny's legs, she decided to get dressed before picking him up. She stopped in front of the mirror, noticing the salty traces of the tears she'd shed last night. Grabbing a washcloth, she decided to do something about it. 

When she felt she looked presentable, she picked William up, changing his diaper and dressing him before sneaking both of them out of what officially was Luke's room and into her own. Rory was dead to the world, sprawled out on her back, one arm tucked away underneath her pillow, the other hanging limply on the edge of the bed, her mouth halfway open, a wet spot on her pillow confirming that she'd been drooling. 

- Now that's attractive, Lorelai chuckled. 

- Eh, William asked, turning his head around, following her voice. 

- Looks like your sister's even worse than you, Lorelai told her son, who of course had no idea what she was talking about. - Who'd have thought? 

- Eh, William repeated. 

- Shall we wake her up before she soaks the whole pillow, Lorelai asked him. 

William gave no response, just looked at her with those big blue orbs of his. Lorelai had originally thought she saw Rory's eyes, meaning her own, in his, but she was beginning to realize that there was definitely something about them other than the color that made her think of Luke as well. Not wanting to be thinking about Luke right now, she began making airplane sounds, moving William around the room as if he was playing, the baby squealing with delight, then softly dropped him onto his sister's chest. Rory let out a dissatisfied groan. 

- I hate you, Rory murmured, not even opening her eyes. 

- Wow, sibling rivalry is already rearing its ugly head, Lorelai quipped. 

- What time is it, Rory asked, groggily, ignoring her moms wittiness. 

- Baaah, William tried to answer. 

This brought an involuntary grin to Rory's face as she opened her eyes and stared at her baby brother, who at that moment had managed to twirl his pudgy hand around some of her hair, bringing it to his mouth to taste. Still too tired to get up, Rory wrapped one arm protectively around her brother to keep him from falling off and the other to reach out and grab her alarm clock. 

- Geez mom, she exclaimed. - It's seven in the morning. 

- Yeah, Lorelai shrugged. - So? 

- So, Rory asked, baffled. - Why on earth would you wake me up at seven in the morning on a Sunday? 

- Is your brother needing breakfast a good enough reason? 

- I count four working limbs, two of them arms, are you telling me that you, his mother, are incapable of feeding him yourself? 

- I can, but with the test run and everything I have to check on the staff to make sure everything is going according to plan and I can't do that beeing cooped up in the kitchen for half an hour. That's where you come in. I mean, you did say you wanted to help out if there was anything I needed. 

- Well, I thought that meant help with place setting, hand out keys or run errands, not to be woken up at the crack of dawn by my crazy mother, Rory groaned. - Besides I thought Luke was gonna watch him. 

Lorelai's heart jumped at the mention of Luke and she hoped Rory didn't notice as this was not the time to have that conversation, especially not with Rory leaving for her trip sometime after breakfast. 

- Luke had to work, Lorelai shrugged, trying to sound as casual and convincing as possible. 

It wasn't really a lie, as she knew he had a business to run and there was about ninety-nine percent chance that was exactly where he was. Rory groaned once more and finally sat up in bed. 

- You owe me, she said, darkly. 

- Twenty-six hours of labor, Lorelai countered. - You owe _me_. 

Hearing muffled sounds coming from downstairs indicating that the inn was waking up, Lorelai decided to leave William in Rory's care and go downstairs. As she closed the door behind her she was met with the sight of a naked Kirk walking past her, his privates covered by the pillow he was carrying. Thank God for small favors. 

- Kirk, she asked, raising her brows. 

- Don't ask, he replied dully, walking stiffly down the hallway in direction of his room, number four. 

His skin made her think of the time he tried having a cat and the beast had scratched up his entire body. 

- Do you want me to go get you some anticeptics, she asked. 

- Okay, he replied. 

_Note to self, have an emergency kit in every room._ Who would've thought that Kirk's presence at the test run would actually come in handy? 

- I'll be right back, she promised. 

She was happy to note that the staff had arrived on time and was in full work mode as she came down the stairs. Two of the kitchen staff came out carrying plates and utensils while the rest were busy in the kitchen following Sookie's instructions to the dot. Retrieving the anticeptics from the inn's medicine cabinet, Lorelai went back upstairs to keep good on her promise. Lulu was already in full pampering mode and Lorelai couldn't help but think about exactly how lucky Kirk had been to find a girl like her. It probably helped his case that she was a third grade teacher and therefore had plenty of patience to handle his many antics. If Kirk knew what was good for him, he would never let her go. 

Lorelai returned to the kitchen, pulling out one of the boxes of porridge that she kept in one of the cabinets for William's sake. He'd become particularly fond of the oatmeal one with apricot and banana, so with that in mind, she chose to make that for him. As adding water and heating up was as good as her cooking skills were gonna get, she swore by these boxes and the bottled dinners to get her through the day. But she did consider as William was only gonna get older to ask to buy some of the home made stuff that Sookie and Jackson gave Davey. Luke would like that. 

By the time Rory emerged down the stairs, carrying a whimpering, hungry William in her arms, Lorelai had the porridge all ready and heated up. To bide his patience, Lorelai gave William a spoonful before handing the bowl and spoon over to Rory to continue while she secured her son in the high chair, putting a bib on him to avoid making too much of a mess. Rory gave her a look when it turned out no one needed Lorelai for anything while William was being fed, however that look was reciprocated when the two of them heard a heated argument coming from the foyer between Taylor and Michel. 

- What'd I tell you, Lorelai asked her before getting up to handle the crisis. 

- This shoe was practically brand new, Taylor told Michel, shaking the shoe at him. - Now look at it. 

- What do you want from me, Michel asked. 

- You are the concierge of this establishment, Taylor pointed out. - Are you not? 

- Well, yes, Michel shrugged. - But I am failing to see what part of my job description involves shoe inspection. 

Lorelai could tell by the throbbing vein in Taylor's forehead that he was seconds away from boiling over and although it would be an amusing sight it was not good for business to have dissatisfied customers, so she decided to cut in. 

- Morning Taylor, she said, politely. - What seems to be the problem? 

- This man is insufferable, Taylor rambled. - I can't for the life of me understand how you would choose such a man to be the face of your establishment. 

- Yeah, well, Lorelai shrugged. - That is for me to worry about. But what is this I hear about a shoe? 

- I have a shoe missing, Taylor informed her. - And the other one that I have here has been chewed. 

- Chewed, huh, Lorelai asked, casting a suspicious glance over at Michel who pretended to know nothing about it. 

- Yes, chewed, Taylor said, angrily. - These are brand new shoes I wear for special occasions. They've only been worn twice and only on smooth-surface floors. I leave them in your hallway for one night, then when I wake up I find this! 

- Oh, God, Kirk uttered, stopping dead in the middle of the staircase. - What have I done? 

- Kirk, Lulu called out, confused, running after him back to the room. 

Patty and Babette, still in their robes, who had just descended the stairs a minute before raised their brows for a couple of seconds before continuing into the dining room where they stopped by Rory's table. 

- _Morning, sweetie_, Patty said. 

- _Morning Patty_, Rory replied. - _Babette_. 

- _Honey, where's Luke_, Patty asked, having obviously looked around the room and not spotted him. 

- _Yeah_, Babette chimed in. - _I thought he was on baby sitting duty_. 

- _Oh, Luke had to work_, Rory explained. 

- Lorelai, Taylor said, snapping her out of her daze. 

- I'm sorry, Taylor, Lorelai said. - What? 

- What are you going to do about it, Taylor asked, demandingly. 

- Um, Lorelai said, absorbing the information she'd received before the commotion around her distracted her. - I'm sorry, but why did you leave your shoes in the hallway? 

- Your complimentary shoeshine, Taylor said, matter-of-factly. 

- Our complimentary what, Lorelai asked, turning her gaze towards Michel for the second time that day. 

- I don't know what he's talking about, Michel said, stubbornly. 

- You think I'm making this up, Taylor asked, aggravated. 

- No, Taylor, Lorelai said, looking warningly over at her employee. - I don't think you're making it up. 

- You're making a scene is what you're making, Michel commented. 

- Alright, fine, Taylor exclaimed. - I'm going to find wherever I read that you said you have shoeshine service. I'm going to show you, and then he can take that look off his face. 

- No, Taylor, Lorelai insisted. - Seriously, I completely believe you. 

As Michel excused himself before Lorelai had a chance to confront him, she sighed and returned to the dining room. Rory had already wolfed down her breakfast and was getting ready to leave. William was no longer in his high chair. 

- Um, where's William, Lorelai asked her. 

- Patty and Babette have him, Rory informed her, pointing to the two women cooing over both him and Davey. 

Babette was holding William and Patty was holding Davey. 

- Great, Lorelai chuckled. - I'm probably gonna have to dislocate several of his limbs to get him away from them. 

- _Uh, oh_, Jackson said as he observed Davey. - _He's got that look on his face. You might want to give him back to me._

- _Oh, please_, Patty replied. - _If I went running every time some guy tried to crap all over me, I never would have gotten married._

- Good luck with that, Rory told her mom. 

- So, you're leaving, Lorelai wanted to know. 

- Yup, Rory nodded. - I told Jess I'd be back right after breakfast. We wanted to give the trip an earliest possible start. That way we get more out of the day. 

- I'm gonna miss you, Lorelai sighed as she walked Rory towards the door. 

- I'm only gonna be gone a couple of weeks, Rory assured her. - Then you have me to slave for you the whole remaining summer. Besides, like you said, you have William and Luke. So it's not like you're gonna be lonely. 

- Yeah, Lorelai lied. - That I have. 

- See, Rory shrugged, giving her mom a quick peck on the cheek. - You won't even notice I'm gone. It'll be like I was at Yale for a couple of more weeks and stayed for the weekends as well. 

- You mean went away to Yale? I didn't notice, Lorelai quipped. 

- Take care, Rory told her with a smile. 

- You too, Lorelai countered. - And say hi to Jess for me. 

- I will. 

- And tell him he better behave himself, Lorelai added. 

- Bye mom. 

One last hug and Rory left. Noticing the alarmingly small stack of comment cards on the desk, Lorelai started searching the drawers for more. As she had refilled the stack, she once more heard quick steps on the staircase. 

- Aha, Taylor said in triumph. - I _told_ you I'd seen it somewhere. Look at this. 

Lorelai accepted the sheet of paper that she had never seen before. It took her five seconds to skim it to see where its origin came from. 

- Um, Michel, could you come here for a sec, she called out, her eyes on the paper the whole time, then turned to Taylor. - Very sorry about this, Taylor. 

- Yes, Michel replied, coming over. 

- I have a list of services here, all printed up nice and neatly, Lorelai told him, holding the piece of paper up for him to see. - Amongst those services are seaweed wraps, facial peels, watsu massage, and complimentary shoeshines, all of which we do not offer. 

- Well, we should, Michel said, stubbornly. 

- Michel, Lorelai said, warningly. 

- I've mentioned them several times before, but you never listen to me, Michel complained. - Sookie wants to make each guest a meringue hat, and you say 'Oh, Sookie, what a brilliant idea.' But when I want to pamper our guests with services we do not have, you tell me to answer the phone. 

- I'm very sorry about this Taylor, Lorelai said, glaring at Michel the whole time. - We will replace your shoes, I promise. 

- Fine, Taylor replied in a haughty tone, handing over the ruined shoe. - I'm a six and a half, narrow. 

- I don't believe you, Michel, Lorelai groaned as soon as Taylor was out of earshot. 

- Oh, you can too, Michel countered. 

- Get Taylor some new shoes by tonight and get your dogs off the premises immediately. 

- My dogs aren't.., Michel argued. 

- Don't, Lorelai interrupted. - It's been a rough weekend. Don't screw with me. 

- If Kirk can sleep inside, why can't my Chows, Michel demanded. 

- Take them home, _now_, Lorelai ordered. 

- Okay, Michel said, holding his hands up in defeat. - I just have to locate Pau-Pau. 

- _What_, Lorelai asked, feeling a migraine brewing. 

- He went out for a walk, Michel shrugged. - He's around, he's just testing his boundaries. 

- Apparently, so are you, Lorelai snapped. 

- I'm going, I'm going. 

Lorelai sighed and rubbed her temple in annoyance. If there was something she didn't want to deal with right then it was her friends and employees quirky behaviour. More than anything she wanted to see and talk to Luke. She couldn't just leave it like that. However with breakfast slowly coming to an end, duty called, as did her stomach. Plus trying to talk to him during the breakfast rush was probably not the cleverest idea, so it'd have to wait. She took ten minutes to grab herself some food from the buffet, then as she observed the kitchen staff commence clearing out the plates and the remaining food, she took a quick check on the horses to make sure Jeremy was doing his job properly, before returning to the reception for the guests to check out. 

It wasn't until sometime into the afternoon, after checking the guests out of their rooms, then checking the rooms after the maids had been there to see if they had done a sufficient job, that she finally got a minute to herself. Sookie was still reviewing the kitchen staff's work, to figure out which two had to go, Michel was currently bringing his dogs home, after finally locating Pau-Pau and the missing shoe, or what remained of it, in the closet in the hallway, and William was down for a nap. She went upstairs to her room, retrieving her cellphone from her purse. She sat down on the chair, not wanting to muss the comforter after the maid had been in there to change the sheets. She dialed the familiar number, hearing it ring four times before someone finally picked up. 

- _Hello_, Luke answered. 

The minute he said it, her throat dried up. She had never before felt so edgy from just a 'hello' in her entire life. But she couldn't just say nothing, so she decided to start simple. 

- It's me, she croaked. 

She could practically hear him tense over the phone. There was silence, a lot of silence. Or, not completely, she could hear him breathing; short forceful breaths, like one of those bulls in the morning cartoons she and Rory used to watch when she was little. Lorelai wouldn't really be surprised if there was smoke coming out his nostrils as well. 

- Luke, she tried again. - Can we talk? 

- _I'm working_, came the reply. 

His voice appeared calm, but there were vibrations there that told her this was a forced calm. 

- Don't be like that, she begged. - Please, talk to me. 

- _I'm working_, he repeated, his voice slightly less composed. 

She heard steps at the other end and a door closing, guessing he had made it to the back room. 

- I know you're mad, she acknowledged. - But we can't just ignore this. William's your son, we need to talk about this. 

- _Oh, so_ now _he's my son_, Luke asked, aggravated. 

- He's _always_ been your son, Lorelai insisted, her voice trembling from holding back the tears that threatened to spill. 

- _Right_, he snapped. - _I just had to earn the right to know, is that it?_

- It's not like that, Lorelai objected, her voice raised, too. - I _wanted_ to tell you, you have no idea how much. 

- _Yeah? What stopped you?_

- You got _married_, Lorelai exclaimed. - You got married, then you didn't get divorced and then you _moved_. 

- _What does any of that have to do with anything!?!_

This time it was Lorelai's turn to be quiet. Her cheek now bore the mark of a single tear escaping the corner of her eye, following the path alongside her nose to the corner of her mouth, where she could taste the salty essence of it. She was breathing heavily, trying to keep herself from getting hysterical. 

- _Lorelai?_

It was his turn to ask. His voice bore a mixture of anger, annoyance, hurt and a little bit of concern. 

- I didn't want to ruin anything, she said in complete honesty, her voice barely louder than a whisper. 

The baby monitor lit up and she could hear the sounds her son, their son, crying. She wasn't sure if it was from their shouting or something else. Needless to say she had to end this conversation without any resolution. 

- William just woke up from his nap, she told him. - I have to go get him. But can we talk later? Please? 

There was complete silence at the other end. 

- Luke, please, she begged. 

She heard him take a deep breath. 

- _Fine_, he sighed. - _I'll try and swing by tonight._

- Ok, she muttered. 

There was a click at the other end, indicating that he had hung up without saying goodbye. She left he phone on the desk and quickly wiped away the tears, quickly making it out of her room and into Luke's where her baby boy resided. She crossed the room and picked up her crying baby. As he was probably picking up on her stress as well, it took longer to calm him down than usual. After making sure he was neither hungry or in need of another diaper, she walked around the room, gently bouncing him up and down. 

She wasn't sure what time Luke meant when he said 'tonight' and as the afternoon progressed, Lorelai found herself making excuses not to go home just yet. She knew that the minute she got home she would be pacing the house waiting for Luke to show up anyway, so she might as well do something useful to bide her time. It helped that Sookie hadn't figured out which members of the kitchen staff to fire and instead of pointing out the obvious solution; firing whichever two Sookie had hired last, Lorelai indulged herself in discussing each of their performances, setting up pro and con lists and generally wasting her time on anything and everything. 

When the clock turned seven, then eight, Lorelai caved and helped Sookie reach a quick and easy solution by firing the two last people she hired and instead send each of them a recommendation letter explaining the circumstances to help them find work someplace else. Lorelai had already packed up everything, including Luke's things that he'd left behind and carried all of it to the car. She drove past the diner and saw that it was still open, but Luke was nowhere to be seen. She then wondered if maybe he was waiting for her. However as she pulled up to her house, she spotted no one at the porch. 

She got out of the car and unstrapped William from his seat. As she reached her porch, she noticed an envelope attached to a bag tied to the door knob. She hadn't seen many of his notes before, but she recognized Luke's writing. William feeling heavy in her arms, she decided to bring the note inside to read. Unlocking the door, she used her body to push the door open, while untying the bag and envelope from the door. She noticed a light flash on her answering machine, but decided to get those later and instead found herself a seat on the couch, balancing William in her lap with one of his toys, that the infant only found mildy interesting, as he'd gotten an eye for the envelope his mommy was holding. Sating her son's curiosity, Lorelai handed William the empty envelope after retrieving the note, which turned out to be an entire letter. William immediately put the edge of the envelope in his mouth, making faces as he explored how this new and exciting toy tasted. 

It was like taken out of a movie where someone received a letter and the viewer would then hear the letter being read by the person who wrote it. It was a thing people would probably hospitalize her for admitting, but as she read the letter, the words on the page transformed into Luke's voice in her head saying it as though he was speaking to her directly instead of having scribbled it down on a piece of paper. She heard every intake and exhales of breaths. It was like she knew where he took a pause and when he 'spoke' in a continuous rant. 

_'Lorelai, _

I was thinking of calling to let you know, but I think you'd agree with our previous 'conversation' that probably isn't the best thing. I thought about calling and just leaving a message... and I did... call, I mean. I didn't leave a message though, I couldn't find the words. So those silent messages on your machine, well, that was me, sorry. 

Then I remembered you saying something about letter writing and how you think it's romantic and that you always picture Mark Twain or Charles Dickins or whoever with one of those long feathered pens, ink bottles and parchment. Well, this is just a page out of my notebook and the pen has a Walmart logo, probably from when Jess was still living here. Anyhow... I can't say I'm not mad, because I am. I mean, God Lorelai, a year. I can't even find the words. For months while you were pregnant and for months afterwards you looked me in the eye, knowing very well I was that boy's father and you didn't say anything. Not a thing. You let me believe he was another deadbeat who had left you to fend on your own. Do you have any idea how many times I wanted to beat that guy up for doing something like that to you? 

Okay, I better stop there before I lose track of what I was really planning on telling you, and before I write something I'll really regret. Liz called me this morning. Apparently her and TJ got into a car accident... don't worry, they're fine, only they broke an arm and a leg each, so they need someone to mind their booth at the stupid Renaissance Fair until they recover. At first I was thinking of saying 'no' for the very first time, mind you, since I feel I can't very well abandon my son... it still feels a bit weird to think of him like that. I mean, I know Liz said I was playing 'dad' and God knows I've felt like his dad for a long time, but actually being one... It will take some getting used to, but I'll get there. Anyhow, I don't know how much you and Liz spoke when she was in town recently, but in case you haven't already figured it out, she really doesn't take 'no' for an answer. And the more I thought about it, the more I thought it was a good idea to get some space to think. 

So as you're reading this, I'm on my way up to Maine. I can't say how long it will be before I'm back. There's, as you know, a lot of stuff I have to think about. I just thought I'd leave you some sort of heads up, so you don't start thinking I'm abandoning you or William, when you see Lane and Ceasar minding the diner on their own tomorrow and the coming days. And in case there's anything you need to contact me about, whether it's William or something else, I went by a store and got myself a cell phone. I'll keep it on me as much as possible. In case you lose the number, both Lane and Ceasar have it. It's 860-294-1986. 

If you're wondering about the blanket, it's one my mom made me when I was a baby. I know you already have everything you need when it comes to William. God knows I carried most of it into your house for you, but I thought it would be nice if he had something else from me than the bunny I gave him that he seems to love so much. I'd air it out before using it though and maybe wash it as well, since it's been lying in a box at the bottom of my closet for many years. It's a very good blanket, so I hope you'll make good use of it. 

Okay, I'm gonna go now, seeing as this is probably the longest letter I've ever written and if I'm right you're already counting the jokes you are going to have at my expense because of it. Call, if there's anything and give William a kiss for me. 

Luke.' 

Lorelai read through the letter two more times before putting it down and then opened up the bag to reveal a light blue homeknitted baby blanket. She could tell Luke's mom had put a lot of work into it. There was a pattern of a fairly large teddybear in a darker shade of blue, which held up a heart containing the initials 'LJD'. _Wonder what the 'J' stands for._ It really was a beautiful blanket. 

Having tired of the envelope, William let the object fall to the floor and instead reached out a hand to grab onto whatever part of the blanket he could. At first Lorelai thought it probably wasn't that good of an idea since Luke himself had written that it probably needed a good washing before using, but her baby boy was a stubborn one and refused to let her take it away. Deciding that the exposure was probably good for him, she caved and let him do as he pleased. She chuckled when she noticed his frown as he put the corner edge of the blanket in his mouth. 

- That bad, she asked him. 

As if he meant to answer, William's tiny body gave a shudder. Lorelai laughed. 

- Don't worry, she told him, kissing his forehead. - We'll wash it before we use it. 

Letting go of the blanket, William twirled his hand around some of her hair and put his thumb in his mouth, curling up in his mother's arms, burying his head in the nook of her neck. Lorelai sighed and wrapped her arms around his body. 

- He'll be back, she promised her baby boy, as she rocked him to sleep. - He'll be back, soon. 

TBC 


	91. Confidant

AN: Okay, so first of all I just want to think you all for your patience. I know, it's been almost two weeks and I've hated that it had to take this long. We're talking withdrawal pains here. But to my defence, I just had an exam that lasted a whole week. So I have a perfectly good reason for my absence. I have one more exam coming up lasting 3 days, followed by 3 days devoted to moving. Yes people, I've found an apartment, it's really great, I love it. I got it like the day after I posted that last chapter. I won't have net access there the first week, but I will find some alternative way to get it in the meantime, either go to the school or to friends. I'll figure it out. And for a whole month I will be home, so I should find some way to getting back to my old writing frequency again, don't worry people. Wild horses couldn't keep me away for long. So how about them movie rumors people? I for one am hoping for them to be true, then maybe we could get the things we deserve after all. But fanfics will still be my haven. As always, three cheers for my beta, Steph, love ya, hon! 

**cywen69** - Hey, hon. It's nice to see you return, I was beginning to wonder where you'd gone. It's funny how you first wanted one of the scenes from the show to make an appearance, seeing as I've gotten more than one remark about how I should write my own original scenes and not take from the show, then that you'd rather have Lorelai tell him later. Sorry, it just made me laugh a bit, since they are kinda contradicting some of the things you've written earlier. I am fogiving you for giving one combined review instead of sepparate ones, since you actually _did_ combine unlike most people. Anyways, so nice to hear things are fixed on your end, so you don't disappear on me again. Enjoy catching up on everything else. 

**Kelly1280** - So happy to see you reading, and four days? Well done. It's always fun to hear when people read the whole thing from beginning to end. Many thanks on the compliments and I hope I can keep your attention with what's coming as well :) 

**sarahb2007** - William is six months old. Not gonna make any statement on more kids, it really depends on how long the story will continue. Some things are specific and other things are still under debate with my other personality... lol. When I know what the last chapter number will be, you guys will know. I'm not planning on pulling a CW on you. Just know we are nowhere near it. 

**gilmorian** - I had to send Luke away. The ripple effect simply couldn't prevent Liz's accident and I had to do something with that. Luke wouldn't just leave that be, no matter what was going on with his life. 

**smileyGGfan** - I love that you guys are so curious on the J-name. Well, I won't reveal it until LL talk again... Yes, evil, I know. And happy belated birthday, I can't remember if I told you that before or not. But there you go. And walking away _was_ a reaction, just not a verbal one.. lol 

**Jessica** - I love hearing the "I almost didn't read, but then I changed my mind" stories from you all. Glad that the chapter numbers didn't turn you off the story. Wow, I've never read any story with the kids names you mentioned, but I agree with you, they sound really not LL. 

**Nubes** - I actually considered that name. I dunno why, but it's not what I decided on in the end, but there's only one reason why I didn't go with it and hopefully it will make sense when it's revealed. 

**MissDeLys** - Answers to your quiz: 1x02 and 3x07. I think I know what you mean with William and thank you. 

**rollsdownhill** - No, there's never been mentioned a middle name in the story, but there hasn't been a mention of him not having one, so... 

**Gymtig** - Oh my, I had no idea about the "dear John" thing, if I had, I would've found a different chapter title. Glad I didn't scare you away from reading. 

**Copop** - Sorry for giving you season 7 flashes, but since Luke was capless downstairs when he stormed out, I had to do it like that. Hmm, I did like it more when you were writing longer reaction to the things you read... Maybe try and minimize the quotes?

* * *

William had discovered clapping. Well, Lorelai wasn't sure if she could call it clapping or not. It had started with the mischievous boy putting both hands into the bowl that held his lunch, while Lorelai had been distracted by Sookie asking her some question regarding some last minute changes she wanted to make to the menu. He had examined the sticky substance on each hand before bringing them together. Once he noticed the funny squishing noise the food between his hands made, he started laughing and eagerly replicated the movement. By the time Lorelai managed to react, the porridge had gone every other place than her son's mouth. Even after she wiped the remaining porridge off his hands and went to make him a new bowl, William kept going at it, though when the sticky sensation and the noise didn't happen, a frown replaced his laugh and he looked up at his mother as if to ask her why. His bottom lip almost quivering, it was Sookie to the rescue, who handed him the wooden spoon she'd just used to stir the custard for the pie she was making. 

The infant eyed the object suspiciously before bringing it to his mouth. He pulled the spoon back and licked his upper lip with a pondering face before bringing the spoon back into his mouth. 

- Mmmm, he said, approvingly. 

Lorelai sent Sookie a grateful look before making William another bowl of oatmeal, the baby being too preoccupied with his new toy to remember that he was hungry. However when it was time to feed him, William refused to let go of the spoon and started crying every single time Lorelai tried taking it away. Seeing no other solution to the problem, Lorelai dipped the spoon in the bowl of porridge and handed it back to her son. It was a slow process, as William's mouth was too small to fit any part of the spoon in it, so he had to lick the substance off instead, but as long as it worked, Lorelai wasn't about to complain. 

About halfway through the meal Michel popped his head into the kitchen. 

- Lorelai, he called out. - I need your help with something. 

- Can it wait, Lorelai asked. - I'm right in the middle of feeding William. 

- Wouldn't it be nice if the world evolved around you and everyone could wait around until it was convenient for you, Michel said in that sugary voice he used whenever he was being sarcastic. - Unfortunately this is a place of business, I have a guest waiting and unless you want to file for bankruptcy, I suggest you come immediately. 

- Be right there, Lorelai sighed, turning to Sookie as Michel popped back out. - So, remind me; why can't I fire him again? 

- Because he's the best concierge on the east coast and we'd be completely scre... um... sugarfoot without him, Sookie supplied. 

- Drat, Lorelai mumbled, looking over at William and the still half-full bowl of oatmeal in front of him. - Now, what am I gonna do about this? 

- I could always take over, Sookie suggested. 

- But what about lunch, Lorelai asked. 

- I have the best kitchen staff in all of Connecticut, Sookie pointed out. - It's all covered. 

- You sure? 

- Yes, go, Sookie ordered. - Save us from early bankrupsy. 

Lorelai chuckled and bent down to plant a kiss on William's temple. As she turned and began moving towards the door, she heard a loud objection from William. Although she assumed he was protesting Sookie grabbing the spoon to continue feeding him, she peaked over her shoulder. True enough Sookie was now holding the wooden spoon, but William wasn't paying any attention to neither it nor Sookie. Instead he was stretching his little arms up towards her, his bottom lip quivering, his eyes already glassy, which signaled that he was already on the verge of crying. As she complied and picked her son up, Lorelai felt his forehead with the back of her hand to check if he was warm. He usually has his clingy days when he was either brewing on something or if he hadn't slept or eaten right. Usually those came hand in hand. However she couldn't decide if she thought he felt warm or not. Other than being particularly sensitive and clingy, there was no other indication that anything was wrong. 

William settled in her arms, his left thumb secured in his mouth, his right hand grasping the fabric of her blouse's collar, which was neatly folded down... until William started pulling on it, that was. Passing through the dining room, heading for the reception area, Lorelai saw no guests. Michel was standing idly behind his desk, seemingly counting post-its just to pass the time. 

- I thought you said we had guests, Lorelai said, pointedly. 

- Mhm, Michel replied. - They're outside. 

- And why are they outside? 

- Because they haven't come in yet. 

- I had to ask, Lorelai muttered to herself before speaking up. - So why are you out there to greet them? 

- I figured it wasn't part of my job description, the concierge shrugged, paying more attention to the post-its than his boss. 

- And how do you figure this? 

- Well, considering I am not a bellboy nor do I feel the urge to tote around other people's luggage, Michel began. - And my job is to man the desk, take reservations, check guests in and out and so on, and the guests no matter what have to physically step into the inn to get to their rooms, there is really no point for me to go outside and ruin my new Italian shoes. 

- Why do I even bother, Lorelai asked herself, already walking towards the door. 

Deciding to rather give Michel a thorough talking to about proper conduction with guests when building a new business later, Lorelai decided to ignored the annoying frenchman for the time being and head outside to smooth over whatever damage Michel had done by not meeting the guests upon arrival. However the minute she spotted the woman standing outside, nodding to herself while taking in the sight of the place, Lorelai stopped dead in her tracks. 

- Mia, she uttered, surprised. 

- Lorelai, the woman instantly replied in a warm chuckle, walking towards her with her arms wide open, ready to embrace both Lorelai and the baby in a hug. 

The hug wasn't too successful as William made it impossible for them to truly embrace each other. Lorelai loosely slung her free arm around Mia and pressed her cheek to hers, but that was as close as they managed. 

- You're here, Lorelai stated, surprised to say the least. 

- What, Mia asked, teasingly. - You really thought I'd miss out on my almost daughter's big day? 

- Normally no, Lorelai replied. - But then I never heard back from you, so I thought you couldn't make it. 

- I almost didn't, Mia informed her. - John's wife, Helen was expecting twin girls due mid-May, so I wasn't sure if it was worth getting your hopes up in case I had to cancel, but then the two buggers came a month early, so what'd you know. 

- Wow, Lorelai said in awe. - So you're a grandma. 

- Again, Mia nodded, grinning merrily, reaching into her purse to pull out a picture. 

Lorelai tilted her head to look at the family photo. She recognized John instantly, not just because he hadn't changed since she saw him just last year, but also because John was one of those people who didn't change a lot. His hairline had moved up and thinned down a litte and he'd gotten a bit thinner in the later years, but other than that very little separated this John from the John Lorelai had gotten to know back when she first started working at the Independence inn. The wife was someone Lorelai had never met. She looked younger than him, though not more then five years, ten tops. Also John looked older than he really was, so it could be the age difference was next to nothing. The pair was sitting on the edge of a hospital bed, each holding a baby. Lorelai guessed Mia had been the one behind the camera. 

- That one there, Mia said, pointing to the baby in John's arms. - That's Elizabeth and that one's Maia. 

Lorelai nodded and sent Mia a congratulatory smile. 

- You know, Lorelai told her surrogate mother. - I don't know if I should hug and congratulate you on the big news or scold you for not telling me. 

- Well, Mia shrugged, casting a glance over at William who was at that moment carefully eyeing this stranger his mother was talking to. - It seems like I'm not the only one here who's been withholding information. 

She crouched down a bit so she was at William's level. 

- Hey there, she told the boy. - You certainly are a new one, what's your name? 

William eyed Mia for a couple of more seconds before sticking out his bottom lip and turning to hide himself in his mother's arms. 

- William, Lorelai supplied, softly stroking her son's head. - He's just being a bit fragile today. 

- No need to explain, Mia chuckled. - I'm a mother too, you know, it might have be a while since the last time, but I remember my kids would cling onto me as if their lives depended on it, John especially. He turned seven before he let anyone besides me give him a ride anywhere. He was very skeptical of strangers. Come to think of it, Lucas was a bit like that as well. Not nearly as extreme as John, but I remember especially the time after Liz was born and Kate took both kids outside, Lucas would turn and hide his face in his mom's skirt whenever he was unsure about the people around him. 

Normally this would've been a moment where Lorelai would've laughed and committed the fact to her memory for future teasing, but the mere mention of Luke's name made her heart give a nervous jolt. Secondly the way Mia was speaking of Luke made it seem like she already knew William was his son. Although Lorelai had no idea how Mia could know this. Not feeling ready to find out, Lorelai opted to change the subject. 

- So, you never told me why you never called to let me know you were coming, Lorelai segued, hoping Mia wouldn't notice her avoidance of the topic of Luke. 

- Oh, well, Mia shrugged. - When I called to make a reservation I suddenly felt the impulse to make my visit a surprise. You know me, I like slipping into the back and spy a bit before announcing my presence, so I asked Michel to make my reservation under a fake name so you wouldn't get suspicious. 

- Michel knew, Lorelai asked in disbelief. 

- His pronunciation is improving as well, Mia added. - I didn't have to ask him repeat himself a single time during that phonecall. 

- Well that explains his weird behaviour, Lorelai shrugged and shook her head lightly. - So, I take it Michel knew you were here, when he came to get me just now. 

Mia chuckled and nodded. 

- He saw me from the window as I was getting out of the cart here, she explained. - My compliments on that by the way. Having your employees come and meet me at the parking lot and then drive me and my bags up to the inn, what an idea. I love what I've seen of this place so far. With your sense of detail, no wonder the Independence ran so well for so long. I simply can't wait for you to show me what else you've done. 

- Well, how about I give you a tour, Lorelai suggested, then called out over her shoulder. - _Michel_? 

She halfway expected him to ignore her, at least until she called out enough times, but surprisingly enough it took him less than fifteen seconds to appear in the doorway, having halfway expected her to call for him. 

- Yes, he asked in that sugary, over polite voice of his. - You called? 

- I'm gonna show Mia around the place, she told him. - And since you already know what pseudonyme she used for her reservation, I figured you could check her in and see to that her bags get to her room. 

Lorelai was about to turn her attention back to Mia, when she remembered one more thing. 

- Oh, and make sure it's on the house. 

Mia looked as though she was gonna object, but knowing Lorelai's stubbornness she let it slide. She followed her to the stables where Janus, the new stable boy was brushing Desdemona. Upon encountering the swirling dust the brush released, William wrinkled his nose a little before letting out a big sneeze, automatically wiping his nose with the back of his hand. He was still a bit skeptic about Mia and reached out his hand to grasp a part of his mother's blouse to hold onto. 

- You know, Mia said, studying the baby. - You can really see Lucas in him. 

- What, Lorelai asked, taken aback by the sudden statement. - I never said... 

- You didn't have to, Mia interrupted her, softly. - I used to change his diaper after all, well once anyway. It's right there clear as day, if you overlooked the nose and a few minor things, they'd be almost identical. And with the way you and Luke've been looking at each other for years it was only a matter of time before this little guy happened. 

Lorelai's initial reaction was to just deny the whole thing, but she knew there was no way of convincing Mia, especially not with William having been named after Luke's dad. 

- The name was just a confirmation, Mia added, as though she was reading Lorelai's thoughts. 

- Can't let anything get past you, can I, Lorelai sighed, caving in. 

- Well, I don't see how else I can get people to tell me things, Mia retorted. - So, tell me, how is Luke? 

- He's... ah... good, Lorelai shrugged and nodded. 

She hoped to someway, somehow direct the conversation over to a new topic. For some reason even talking to Mia about it felt weird, even if the woman had figured it out on her own. Although she trusted Mia more than anyone else in the world, telling her everything could be a beginning of a slippery slope. If anything she didn't want Luke to return even more of a center figure in the town's gossip than he already was by his leaving. So far the Liz explanation had made some of it die down, though there was a voice here and there speculating on there being some other reason. The most popular one being that Lorelai could've had something to do with it. Of course it was treated as just a rumor, seeing as Lorelai hadn't let anyone see her being affected by Luke's vanishing act. Sometimes the town really didn't realize how close they actually were. 

- He's adjusting to the father role, Mia enquired. 

- Something like that, Lorelai replied. 

After all, it wasn't a lie. Mia seemed satisfied with the answer and asked no further questions as Lorelai continued to show her the inn's exterior. Instead the conversation moved on to everything else that had happened. Lorelai mentioned Rory, Yale and her current trip with Jess. Mia told Lorelai more about how it took her daughter-in-law three attempts before she managed to complete a pregnancy and about how the increased pollution had caused her youngest grandson to develop asthma, which again turned the conversation over to Mia's wish to move back to Connecticut or some other small town on the East Coast. 

Lorelai only got time to give Mia a quick tour of the interior before the paying guests arrived and she was suddenly swamped with playing hostess, leaving Mia to chat with Sookie in the kitchen. Between the change of conversation topics and Lorelai having to tend to her guests, she got no further enquires about Luke, at least not until the evening after Mia returned from her trip into town. Sookie had gone home and the night manager was in place. Lorelai stayed behind to check on things and do some paperwork while William napped in the portable crib that Lorelai had set up in her office, anticipating long days to become more than mere one-time things. She was deeply engrossed in trying to figure out how to balance the ordersheets for the restaurant with the overall budget and didn't even notice Mia coming in. Sensing something by her side, Lorelai looked up and almost jumped out of her skin. 

- _Gah_, she exclaimed, holding her hand over her heart, willing it to stop beating so hard. - You scared me. 

- I'm sorry, the older woman said, softly. 

Lorelai took a couple of deep breaths to calm down. 

- How was the town, she asked her. - Still the way you remembered? 

- I went by the diner, Mia said, obviously not bothering to move around the pond more than she already had. 

- Oh, Lorelai muttered, barely audible. 

- What exactly's going on between the two of you, Mia wanted to know. 

Lorelai had a feeling Mia wouldn't let the matter rest that easily, but still opted to play dumb. 

- What makes you think there's anything going on? 

- Well, for starters I haven't seen him all day, Mia pointed out. 

- He's up in Maine, helping Liz out, Lorelai explained. 

- Secondly, that's the first time you've mentioned this to me, Mia continued. - You hesitated when I asked how Lucas was doing and you seem very eager to change the subject whenever I mention his name. 

- You're too perceptive for your own good, Mia, Lorelai sighed, knowing that arguing on this would only delay the inevitable. 

- How else am I to find out when something's bothering you, Mia simply asked, taking a seat next to her. 

Lorelai felt her eyeballs getting warm from the tears she tried so hard to hold back. Finally one tear escaped and trailed down alongside her nose, ending up at the corner of her mouth. Mia noticed and put her arms around her surrogate daughter, stroking her head with one hand and her upper arm with the other. Lorelai felt as though she was back to the time she was living in the potting shed, where Mia would do this to show her that she didn't always have to keep her worries to herself. 

- There, there, Mia muttered, while continuing stroking her upper arm, her other hand moving to wipe away the few extra tears that had made it down Lorelai's cheek. - What was the fight about? 

- William, Lorelai managed to say before her voice drowned in a mixture of uncontrolled sobs and chaotic rambling. - I messed up. I should've told him back when I found out I was pregnant, instead I hid it. I was afraid to tell him, so I lied. And he was so good to me, putting up with all my crap. He assembled the crib, made sure I ate right, came to the hospital with me, took care of William when I was losing it. Nicole hated it, hated me, but he did it. Did everything. Still I lied to him. I hid it, and now he knows and he won't talk to me. I messed everything up... 

It was obvious that the older woman had trouble getting the gist out of Lorelai's ramblings, but she didn't say anything, just listened as Lorelai let everything out, then when her sobs seemed to be under control, Mia demanded the whole story. Having felt from the beginning that Mia was a person who didn't judge and instead loved unconditionally, Lorelai felt comfortable enough to tell Mia everything from beginning to end; the night, Nicole, the summer in Europe, the marriage, the non-divorce... everything up to her coming clean with Luke and his immediate reaction and his reasoning for leaving. 

- I'm scared, Lorelai admitted. - I mean, I know he'll never abandon William, but what if we never move past this? That all we'll ever be are these two bickering parents who can't even be in the same room together without biting each others heads off? I don't want to believe that's all we'll be, but we're not talking and he needs time to think. But how much time? I don't want to push him into coming back too soon, but at the same time I don't want to let him stay away too long and miss out on even more things with William. And I don't know how long this will take him. The last time we fought anywhere near this was when Jess crashed Rory's car and landed her in the hospital. We didn't speak for months after that. What if it's the same here and he stays in Maine all summer or longer? 

- Well, Mia began. - You are talking to someone who's known Lucas pretty much his entire life. He's had to go through a lot, first with losing Kate at such a young age and then having to take care of William while he was undergoing chemo therapy before he too died. All of that time he didn't rely one anyone else but himself. He's a lot like you that way. This turned him into the introvert man he is today. The way he deals with the matters that hits him the hardest, that either makes him worry or unsure of himself or the people around him, is to retreat and deal with it in solitude. He likes to really think things through before acting, to avoid doing something too rashly. 

- Makes sense, I guess, Lorelai nodded, thinking about when Luke had put up the 'Gone Fishing' sign in the diner and taken off after their last big fight. 

- If you want my advice, Mia continued. - I think you are doing the right thing by letting him have his space. He'll come back when he's ready to. He always does. It's not like he took off without a word, if there's anything of importance that you need to share with him, about William or anything else, then you know how to contact him. 

Before Lorelai had time to even respond to Mia's advice, the light on the baby monitor lit up and she heard the familiar cry from her baby boy who had just woken up. Instead of saying anything she nodded gratefully at Mia, before getting up, heading for her office. As she picked William up to comfort him, she glanced over at her cellphone which she had left at her desk. She picked it up with her free hand and her heart gave a nervous jolt as she noticed the voicemail icon light up in the corner of the screen. Swallowing hard, she flipped the phone open to call and check the message. Her heart sunk when she heard that it wasn't what she thought it was. 

- _Hi, mom. I tried calling home, but then remembered what date it is. But guess you're not picking up your cell either. Anyway, just wanted to check in. We're in Chicago, yes, the windy city, I can now confirm that it's living up to the nickname. We've walked the Navy Pier and tomorrow we're hitting the Cultural Center and then we're gonna stake out the NBC Tower. I'll tell Oprah hi if I see her. So, okay, call me when you get this, we're staying up late. Bye._

Lorelai stared at the phone for a little while, before dialing the familiar number. Three rings later she heard someone pick up. 

- _Hello?_

- Rory... 

TBC 


	92. Vietnam without the fun shooting

AN: Okay, before any of you say anything I just want to point out how much I hate myself for letting it take so long. I thought I'd manage before I came home, but then I had friends who wanted to visit and since I was gonna be home for a month I felt like I had to give them of my time, especially since my best friend is gonna go home just days after I get back, so we won't see each other until August. And then I came home and it was my mom's birthday and my sister was here, so there time flew as well. And I feel even worse for giving you just a short chapter, but trust me, there was no way I could make this one long, not with the way I had planned it. At least I'm back and I promise, no more big distractions. I have no more exams or moving or any of that crap. So will make sure I update more in the coming weeks, okay? Big cheers for my beta, Steph for always pushing to make me write better :) 

**mercy-angel-09** - I love getting new readers and especially the kind who gives me long, indepth reviews. Yeah, I guess I write the Queen's english. I think that's what we were taught. I don't really pay attention as for me english is english... lol Sorry about leaving out the DC on Washington. I know it's both a state and the capital, but I didn't realize those letters were that important, oh well... 

**Kelly1280** - I agree with you on the season 7 Mia, it felt wrong to me to have a whole new person come and play the character, especially someone who was 10 years younger than the original Mia. 

**MissDeLys** - To answer your quiz: 3x22 

**smileyGGfan** - I agree with your take on Mia. She's not the judgmental type and I too think that's part of why it's easy for Lorelai to confide in her. 

**cywen69** - I take you skipping right to my update as the highest compliment. I'm now done with college for good now, so yay! The exams, both practical and oral went well and the sensor in the oral (who was pretty tough) gave me nothing but praise on my things and got me blushing like crazy. I'm happy. Now I can finally try and get back to my old update ratio... at least almost :) 

**Copop** - You're welcome on the breastfeeding thing and like you know, you're not the only one with weird obsessions ;) The reason Luke doesn't recognize it as easily as Mia does is that he's only seen himself as a baby on baby pictures and it's not the same as seeing a baby in real life. I remember when my niece was born, mom said she had a deja vu experience with her, because she just knew when she held her that she'd held this baby before. We found out by comparing baby pictures that she looked a lot like me, but I wouldn't know that (despite having seen my baby pictures a ton of times) unless I knew what to look for. It's the same here. And Emily and Richard have only been mentioned lately. They will return, just not yet.

* * *

_What am I doing_, Luke silently asked himself. Every morning when he woke up ten minutes before the alarm was set to wake him. Everytime he found himself waiting for his rye toast to finish on Liz and TJ's crappy toaster, that he of course had to fix at least once a day as the damn thing fell apart whenever you as much as looked at it. Whenever he spotted one of those lunatics dressed up as Queen Elizabeth or some other Shakespearian character walking by. Everytime Henry, Maine's very own Babette and Miss Patty all wrapped into one (but who thankfully didn't share their unhealthy interest in his hindquarters) decided to share the latest gossip with him... he found himself thinking the same thing. What was he doing? 

Luke had fallen into a routine. He got up, battled Liz and TJ's dodgy kitchen equipment for almost an hour, in order to make his breakfast. He then 'opened shop' so to speak, carrying out boxes upon boxes with Liz's jewelry and hanging all of it up on the branches that TJ had deliberately nailed to the booth he'd built her. Apparently the guy had taken the term 'ear ring tree' a bit too literally. Then he spent the day trying to sell the stuff. Being a guy and naturally not really interested in things like jewelry, Luke was happy to note that most of it sold itself, that all he really had to do was be there to make sure no one just took the things, remember the prices Liz had set and be helpful whenever people needed directions to the rest of the faire events. He only faltered whenever a customer wanted his opinion on whether or not a certain pair of ear rings or a necklace suited them or would suit his, or even her girlfriend which had this and that description. Mostly he just shrugged and nodded cluelessly, which seemed to work well for him. 

Personally, however, he was going crazy. He never in a million years would've imagined that he one day would put the inhabitants of Stars Hollow next to someone and think 'sane', but compared to the faire people, even Kirk's many endeavors were beginning to look logical. And it didn't help that TJ, every afternoon when Luke went to check on Liz, and TJ indirectly, had decided to quiz Luke on the approved faire language and mannerism. Luke was doing his best to ignore him, but it was getting annoying. However not going wasn't an option either, as not only did he have to pick up the new jewelry from Liz, who had gotten good at using only the fingers on her casted arm and doing most of the work with the other, Liz was also the only person in Maine that didn't make him feel like jumping off a very tall building (or a cliff, he could settle for a cliff) after only five minutes of conversation. 

The fact that seeing Liz was the high point of his day depressed him ever so much. Not that he didn't love his sister. He did. But unlike before, when he was perfectly happy to lead a routine life, do his job during the day and retreat to his 'cave', as Lorelai called it, afterwards with an occasional 'rescue me' call from Liz interrupting his normal flow, it was no longer enough. 

It had seemed like such a great idea when he had decided it. Liz never let him say no whenever she asked a favor, or well, he could say it, but she would always ignore it, so it wouldn't mean anything. And if everything else failed, she would resort to the crying thing and if there was one thing Luke Danes hated, it was to see women, whether they'd be family, friends or foes, cry. So, as he'd known from the beginning that he wouldn't get out of it, he had taken it as a free pass, not to get out, but to get space, to be able to take his time and think things through without the entire town breathing down his neck. God knew how long it would take before this leaked out, if it hadn't already... Part of him wanted to believe that Lorelai had kept this from everyone and not just him, but at the same time he had a difficult time to fathom how such a big secret could escape the prying eyes and ears of such a small community as Stars Hollow for a whole year. 

He wondered if it would've really made that big of a difference if the rest of the town knew or not. Well, of course it made some difference, but when one thought about it, neither scenario would've changed the fact that he'd practically been cheated out of the first six months of his son's life. Or at least in experiencing those six months as a father, as he had to admit Lorelai had always conveniently needed him around a lot of the time. Not even as a knowing father would he've been able to be there for every moment of William's life. And as much as he wanted to claim the opposite, Lorelai hadn't kept William from him. She'd hidden the truth, but he'd always had a place in his son's life. He didn't know what he wanted more; to be angry at her or to forgive her? Right now he was at a crossroad. 

It was probably bad of him to want to be angry at her, but it beat feeling hurt. It beat wondering what it had been about him that had lead her to take the choice she did. Had his anti kids comments over the years really lead her to believe he'd hate his own kid? Or that he'd take off or something? Hadn't she once been the one to tell him she thought he'd make a good dad? 

Luke liked to believe he was the one person who knew Lorelai better than the rest, but there were times where he wondered if he really knew her at all. He was generally good at reading her moods and he was more often than not the person Lorelai seemed to like to confide in. Sometimes it had been painful to listen, especially whenever it involved some other guy, but he'd always listened, always let her know she was welcome to confide anything in him. So he had a difficult time grasping how the one thing she should've come straight to him about, was the one thing she chose not to share. His natural reaction, once the initial shock settled, was to try and figure out what he'd done that lead to her becoming so unsure of him. 

He hadn't told Liz anything about what was bothering him. Despite her knowing something was up, as she was pretty good at reading people, him especially, she hadn't said anything yet. Luke wasn't one to share without being asked and even then he was reluctant. He was pretty sure he already knew what advice she'd give him as it was the same advice he'd probably give himself; to call her. It wasn't that he hadn't thought about it. He even found himself staring at the phone, pondering on whether or not to swallow his pride and call. 

The worst part of the whole thing was how much he actually missed her. He missed her company, her voice, her chipperness. He missed her crazy antics that sometimes drove him up the wall. Even her coffee obsession and the many fruitless attempts he made at convincing her to give it up was something he sorely missed. 

But despite all that, he didn't do more than stare. Each night he ended up dropping the phone back into his trusty green backpack, turned off the light and went to bed. 

TBC 


	93. Blast from the past

AN: What can I say to truly illustrate how sorry I am for letting it go this far without an update. No, I'm not abandoning ship, no matter what you think. I'm not about to walk away from a project I've dedicated 14 months to. It doesn't work that way. I'm hanging on to the very end, even if it means another 14 months dedicated to writing. I love this story, it's my baby and I want to see it grow up... lol, I know, oy with the metaphors already. So what happened? Well, I think it's the classic holiday phenomena. When I have the most time to write out of the whole year and I'm the least productive. It was the same way last summer, so I think it's safe to say that there's something there. Also, like last time, I have some demanding chapters to write. Why do I time it like this? lol. Oh and I've managed to find yet another obsession of mine, this lead to a reference that I've hidden in the following chapter. Kudos to whoever can point out the reference and guess my new obsession ;) And before you say anything, yes, part of it was 'hey, wouldn't it be cool to add this' as well as it was 'hey, this actually works in here'. 

AN 2: Major kudos to Steph for always being here to see me through whenever I get stuck. 

**smileyGfan** - If you can forgive me for the late updates, I'll forgive you for not reviewing earlier ;) 

**flcrkr** - No, I've had shorter chapters, but the fact that it's so 'compact' with no dialogue, it makes the chapter look shorter than it is. But it's one of my shorter ones, yes. 

**Copop** - Luke missing William is a given. He's his dad and I think even if he hadn't known, he would've missed him, because he loves him like a dad. 

**LozzieLiz** - I expected there would be at least a few disappointed people. At least this one's longer and a tad more eventful... lol 

**Kelly1280** - Yes, that was one really important thing I wanted to illustrate, the way Luke deals with things. Like when Jess took off, Luke at first was mad, but inside he was hurting because he believed he was at fault for how Jess had turned out. Or when he let Anna trample over him with the April matter. He thought it was his own fault that Anna never let him know he had a daughter. 

**mercy-angel-09** - No, I've never been to a Ren Faire. They don't have them here in Norway. I highly doubt Luke would enjoy the faire you described. He'd either roll his eyes and rant or maybe have fun mocking it with Lorelai. That's at least how I imagine Luke at a faire. I, however, would probably have a lot of fun at one. And I get your irritation on the DC thing. I get mildly annoyed whenever Hollywood portray Scandinavian characters as blonde milkmaids with pigtails who only say one word; "ja" ("yes"), because they don't understand a word of English. Considering English is a manditory subject from when we're nine, that's a bit insulting, but whatever... At least ASP made the milkmaid Dutch, lol...

* * *

Lorelai had followed Mia's advice; giving Luke the space he needed, but she was closing in on the three week mark of having not heard from him and it was taking its toll on her. For the sake of keeping the town out of the loop of both their relationship and the fight, she made sure to keep up her visits to the diner for breakfast and sometimes dinner, if she had the time. To be truthful she was relieved whenever she had a plausible excuse to avoid it, like running late from her house when she overslept or not coming home until very late in the evening when the work piled up. It wasn't the same. As much as Lane and Ceasar tried, it simply wasn't the same. Ceasar's cooking wasn't bad, that wasn't the case at all, but his pancakes weren't fluffy and he too easily put more syrup on her French toast when she requested him to. There was no resistance, no banter, no pleas for her to eat healthy, no sneaking her decaf instead of regular when she wasn't looking. Even the coffee tasted different, despite being brewed from the same mix that Luke used. Lorelai even asked Lane to add some nutmeg to it to see if it made any difference. It didn't. She knew it was all in her head, but her tastebuds simply refused to believe her. 

And although she knew she was crazy for thinking it, it seemed to her that even William could tell that something was off. At first she had thought he was showing signs of getting sick, but nothing had happened, not even as much as a sniffle. Yet he just didn't seem himself. He objected to being placed in the high chair in the diner. One time she'd had to run to the bathroom to wash off fruit purИ that William had spilled on her work blouse and he'd been crying crocodile tears by the time she'd returned just two minutes later. And even though he was better at home and the inn, something still was off. 

As work had started to build up after the official opening, she was originally going to take Jackson up on his offer to watch William while she and Sookie had to work, since he was already taking care of Davey and it made sense to let the two babies socialize, even if all they did were lying on their backs next to each other, exploring various plastic toys by putting them in their mouths. Unfortunately it hadn't gone as well as she'd hoped. The first time Jackson had been back within an hour, having tried everything in the book to calm William down without it helping at all. Being a first-time parent, that really helped his self-esteem... The second time, he hadn't even made it out of the lobby before all hell broke loose. 

So, giving up on the idea, she started taking him to work with her again. It wasn't all bad, not really. Mostly all she needed to do was give him an object to explore every so often and on his good days, if there were tasks that needed doing that she couldn't do with William on her hip or in a play pin in the same room, he let her leave him in a high chair in the kitchen with Sookie for a little while without making much fuss. It helped her case that Sookie had various cooking utensils with leftover dessert substances on them to bribe him with. It didn't always do the trick, but today was one of those days. One of their guests had brought their daughter on their trip and had asked if they could have a birthday cake made for her sixth birthday the next day. The girl's favorite cake was molten chocolate lava and Sookie had already begun prepping, which meant plenty of tablespoons and spatulas with leftover icing on them. 

Lorelai had only left the kitchen for ten minutes to show the new handyman around and point out the more critical things to fix, but when she'd returned William's cheeks, fingers and clothes had been covered in chocolate stains. The boy, upon seeing her return grinned a toothless grin and stretched his arms up, gesturing for his mommy to come and pick him up. She shook her head with a mock groan, but obliged to her son's request, discovering at the same time that he'd even gotten chocolate in his hair at the back of his head. 

- You're big on the chocolate, huh, she asked, reaching out behind her for a washcloth. 

- Mmm, William responded, pressing his shoulders up, throwing his head back, as if to illustrate with his body how much he really enjoyed the dark, sticky substance. 

Lorelai ran the moist washcloth over the back of his head to get those stains out first, then ran it over both his hands and moved on to his face. As she wiped his mouth, he opened it and stuck his tongue out to taste the washcloth. Laughing, Lorelai ran it over his tongue a few times, getting the rest of the chocolate from his face. She made a half-hearted attempt at rubbing out the chocolate stains, before she considered it a lost cause and handed the washcloth over to the closest member of the kitchen staff. 

Remembering that she had a change of clothes stuffed between toys and diapers in the bag that had since William's birth become a permanent companion, Lorelai thanked Sookie for looking after William for her and left the kitchen in the direction of her office. She paused for a moment when she hit the lobby, just observing her employees in action; the servers refilling coffee and taking lunch orders, the busboys perfectly balancing the dirty plates on one arm, a maid dusting off the book shelves in the lobby and the bell boy carrying the luggage of the new guests Michel had just finished checking in; Mr and Mrs Shepherd, a Manhattan surgeon and his wife, celebrating their ten year wedding anniversary with a weekend away. Lorelai had briefly greeted them on her trip back to the kitchen, earlier. Watching her employees was similar to observing ants in an anthill, only these ants were not ruled by a queen, as much as their paychecks. 

- Do we have a camera policy, Michel enquired, as she passed him. 

- Not that I can think of, Lorelai shrugged. - Why? 

- There should be one. 

- I'm not following you, Michel, Lorelai said, raising her brows in confusion. 

- I am saying we should have rules on where and when and what is appropriate to take pictures of here at this establishment. 

- Has someone been taking candids of you without your make-up on, again, Lorelai teased. 

- This is _not_ about me, Michel barked. 

- Michel, Lorelai laughed. - It was her first trip across the Atlantic and she wanted to thoroughly document her stay. 

- She was up in my face, flashing that thing, Michel argued. - It was really early and I hadn't had my morning tea yet, _and_ I had a pimple. Tacky woman, if I were a cod fish in the supermarket, she would have photographed me. 

- That was a _week_ ago, Lorelai pointed out. - I think it's time you let it go. 

- I have, Michel insisted. - Besides, that is not what I was talking about. I am talking about tourists sneaking around the property taking pictures. 

- It's _pictures_, Michel, Lorelai emphasized. - The weather's sunny and we have a beautiful exterior, a perfect backdrop for pictures, why not take advantage of it? 

- I think we have spies, Michel replied, quickly. 

- What, Lorelai laughed. 

- I think we have spies who are sneaking around the place, hiding in the bushes, taking pictures of the inn and our land. 

- And what, Lorelai challenged. - Reveal our great big secret of success? 

- They could be selling the pictures to magazines, Michel suggested. 

- Because the free advertising would really suck, Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. - You're being a bit paranoid, you know? 

- Baaaah, William added. 

Lorelai chuckled at the sudden interruption from her son. 

- See, he agrees with me, she laughed. - Michel, relax. We are a new inn, we still have a long way to go before we turn a profit, there are no industrial spies walking around trying to steal the secret to our success, because we haven't had any yet. 

Ignoring Michel, she took her baby with her into the office to get him changed. The stains were luckily dried, so she wouldn't have to worry about mucking up her own blouse, but it was always better to be safe than sorry, so she intended to put some clean clothes on his body. Unfortunately the bag she always brought was nowhere to be seen. Trying to retrace her steps from that morning, as she'd been in a hurry, she realized that she'd forgotten to bring it up from the car. 

- Baaah, William repeated. 

- Yeah, Lorelai nodded, pretending what William had said made perfect sense. - Bah. 

She hoisted him up a little bit on her hip, getting a better grip on him, and made her way to the parking lot. It took her less than five seconds to locate the bag in the car. Luckily she discovered she hadn't been completely out of it, as the bag neither lacked clothes nor extra diapers. She hoisted the thing onto her right shoulder after relocating William over to her left hip, and started walking back up towards the inn. Her mind completely elsewhere, she paid less attention to her surroundings than ever before, yet, as she made it up the road, she had a sudden strong instinct to turn her head to the right. A woman, looking to be in her early to mid thirties looked to be admiring the exterior, snapping a photo every five to ten seconds. Normally Lorelai wouldn't've given this even a second glance, but she did find it odd that even if Michel had been right, that someone would take such a strong interest in her property so soon. 

Lorelai paused her walk on the pathway and instead changed course, walking up to the woman. She clearly was very focused on her subject, as she made no indication that she'd even heard Lorelai come up behind her. 

- Admiring the view, Lorelai asked, lacking for anything better to say. 

- Yeah, the woman replied, turning around, lowering her camera. - It's pretty spectacular what you've done with this place. 

For a few seconds Lorelai lost her ability to speak as she took in the surprise of standing right in front of the woman who initiated the whole thing. 

- R-Rachel, she stuttered. 

- Hey, Rachel shrugged, smiling. - How's it going? 

- Recovering from the stroke you just gave me, Lorelai chuckled, holding her chest with her free hand. - But otherwise I'm fine. Aren't you supposed to be living life away in exotic places? Or is this another one of your impromptu visits? 

Rachel chuckled. 

- Actually, she shrugged. - I'm currently living life in the exotic location of Hartford, Connecticut. Kinda a compromise with my boyfriend, I do some work for local magazines or one to two week assignments elsewhere and he comes with me wherever I want to go in the Summer without any objection to the location. 

- So, Lorelai guessed. - You're here for work? 

- Not exactly, Rachel shook her head. - I spotted one of your ads in the paper the other day and curiosity got the best of me. I have an assignment over in Danbury, but figured it was worth making this little detour and snap a couple of pictures. Since I already have my _before_ shot, I should complete the collection with an _after_ shot as well. 

- How about I give you something better, Lorelai suggested. - You up for a tour of the place, maybe lunch, or are you in a hurry? 

- How about I say yes to the tour and give you a raincheck on lunch, Rachel countered. - I have to be in Danbury no later than two and you never know when traffic will get bad. 

- Umph, William chimed in, objectively, obviously tired of being ignored. 

Rachel smiled and crouched down so she was at William's level. 

- Hey there, sweetie, she greeted him. - Who might you be? 

- This is William, Lorelai informed her. 

She studied her son's behavior, expecting him to wriggle his way away from Rachel, hide his face, but so far he seemed undetermined on whether he considered this strange woman a friend or foe. Suddenly something sounding like a mixture between a cough and a gag-reflex came from him and before Lorelai could react, Rachel's blouse wore a fresh, dark stain. 

- And, Lorelai continued. - That would be leftover dessert. 

William, obviously not liking throwing up one bit, started to cry and Lorelai hoisted him up, wrapping both her arms around him, comforting him. 

- Shh, she muttered, rocking him from side to side as he cried inconsolably. 

She turned her gaze over to Rachel, who was already wiping away as much of the stain she could with a hankerchief, giving the woman an apologetic look. 

- Sorry, she said, continuing rocking William from side to side. - Next time I leave him in the kitchen with Sookie, I'll make sure she doesn't give him too much dessert. 

- It's okay, Rachel assured her, examining the stain. 

- I'm sorry, Lorelai informed her. - But that stain's not coming out anytime today. 

- No problem, Rachel insisted. - I'll just button up my jacket and ignore the ninety degree weather. 

- No, no, Lorelai shook her head. - If your luck in anyway resembles mine, you'll have your mother waiting for you, insisting you take your jacket off in the headmaster's office, as not doing so would be rude and then you might as well be wearing spores, as you'd have a better chance fitting in at the rodeo than at an office. 

- My mother lives in Boston, Rachel pointed out, her brows raised, as she looked to ponder whether or not to comment on the rest. 

- Ok, so the scenario was a tad too specific, Lorelai gave in. - What I meant to say is that I have a spare blouse up at the inn. It's a necessity with me bringing William to work with me. It seems like every single day he finds a new inventive way of staining my work clothes. 

Rachel chuckled. 

- Kids never cease to amaze you, she nodded. - But don't you need it yourself, you know, just in case? 

- The perk of being a working mom, Lorelai replied. - As he's pretty much attached to my hip for most of the day, all I have to do is nod in his direction and I have all the understanding in the world. 

As they reached Lorelai's ofice, William's cry had been reduced to sniffles and Lorelai changed his clothes, while Rachel quickly changed into the blouse Lorelai had handed her. Good thing they were the same size. 

- So, how's Luke doing, Rachel asked, as she buttoned the last button, pulling on the edges a little to make sure it sat on her the way she wanted. 

- Um, Luke, Lorelai asked, taken aback by the sudden change of topic. 

She shouldn't be surprised that Rachel brought him up, after all she was his ex-girlfriend and regrettably had known Luke longer than Lorelai had. The irrational part of Lorelai's brain began wondering if she should feel threatened by Rachel's presence because of that. True, Rachel had hurt Luke more than once by taking off all of a sudden, not saying goodbye, but she again hadn't hidden a son from him for six months. Luckily the rational side of her, which for once was the one speaking louder, reminded her that Rachel seemed both happy and content with her life at the moment, where she even currently had a boyfriend she obviously cared a lot about, seeing as she was honoring her side of their deal by taking only local work assignments. With the way she'd had Rachel described to her, that was as good as being married by Rachel's standards. And even if there was still some unresolved feelings for Luke, it didn't mean that he'd be willing to take her back. Last time, when he'd still been unattached, he'd been reluctant enough to take her back as it was and when Rachel had left, Lorelai had had a feeling that it was for the last time. And the last thing Lorelai reminded herself of was that despite the little triangle they'd had going back then, as oppressed as her feelings could be, her and Rachel had had no problems being friends with one another. She liked Rachel and that like was enough for her to lay her jealous beast to rest. That being said, it didn't mean she was comfortable talking about Luke with her, not with their current separation, or whatever one would call it. 

- Um, he's good, she finally said. - He's up in Maine, helping Liz, because she was in a car accident three weeks ago and needed someone to help. So he's up there now, helping her out with everything she can't do, because she broke an arm and a leg and there was something about a booth at the faire. 

- Faire, Rachel asked, confused. - Last time I heard, Liz was in New York, working in a crafts shop. 

- Oh, she sells ear rings now that she makes herself at Renaissance Fairs up and down the East coast, Lorelai informed her. 

- So now Luke's selling ear rings at a Renaissance Faire, Rachel asked. - I'm just trying to picture Luke at one of those things. 

- Grunting, sulking, Lorelai suggested. - Tearing his hair out in frustration. 

- Ramming his head into a tree, Rachel supplied. 

- Or the side of the booth, Lorelai shrugged. 

- I wonder if the tights thing is mandatory, Rachel thought out loud. 

- Don't go there, Lorelai chuckled. - I won't be able to think about anything else all day. 

- Poor Luke, Rachel chuckled. - It must be hard on him to be away from William for so long. 

- Wait, _what_, Lorelai asked, confused. 

- I'm just saying, Rachel shrugged. - That it must be hard for him to be away from his son for so long. 

- How in the.., Lorelai muttered, unable to form the words. 

- Oh, Rachel mumbled. - I'm sorry, I just assumed that... I'm sorry. 

- What is it with everyone tuning in on me and Luke, Lorelai more thought out loud than said. - Is it some sort of signal we send out that makes everyone jump to the same conclusion? 

- I'm sorry, Rachel apologized. - I just assumed you two were together because of last time. 

This caught Lorelai's attention and she snapped out of her daze. William pulled on her shoulder and blouse, possibly demanding her attention, but Lorelai was too distracted to notice. 

- Last time, she asked, shifting her son around in her arms. 

- Yeah, Rachel nodded. - You know... why I left... 

If this had been a cartoon, Lorelai would've had a giant question mark hovering over her head and Rachel seemed to be picking up on the message. 

- Don't tell me he didn't do it, she said, stunned. 

- Do what, Lorelai asked, more confused now than ever. 

- You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you, Rachel exclaimed, exasperatedly. 

- Did the clueless look on my face rat me out? 

Rachel sighed and shook her head. 

- The reason I left last time, she began. - It wasn't because I got bored and wanted to see the world. I was ready. Ironically when I finally was committed to make this thing with Luke work, he just wasn't there anymore. Not mentally, anyway. Part of me thinks the only reason Luke gave it one more go was because you told him to. That got more evident for me the longer I stayed. He didn't tell me this, because let's face it, Luke is Luke. You have to really push to get anything out of him. And believe me, he tried to deny there was anything going on, but when I finally confronted him about it, he couldn't even get the words out. So I told him not to wait too long before telling you. 

Lorelai swallowed hard as Rachel's words sunk in. Had this really been going on that long? True the whole town and Rory had been telling her this since what seemed to be the dawn of time, but she had always been able to brush it off, ignore it, since Luke had never once acted on these acclaimed emotions. So hearing this from someone who knew Luke as intimately as Rachel once had, it made her speechless. 

- Please tell me he at least eventually got around to telling you this, Rachel begged her. - That I didn't just bare his deep dark secret for you. 

Still processing the whole thing, Lorelai remained still. 

- Well, that's that, Rachel shrugged, trying to lighten the mood. - He'll never speak to me again. 

- You stand a better chance than me, Lorelai finally said. 

She wasn't sure why she was confiding this in Rachel when she'd already gotten the perfect out from it. Maybe it was because she didn't want Rachel to think badly of Luke when he more than anyone deserved her sympathy. Rachel, catching the serious vibe coming from Lorelai, leaned back against Lorelai's desk, preparing herself to remain there for a while. 

- Nobody knows about me and Luke, Lorelai began. - They don't know that we had a drunken one-night-stand over a year ago, that we've been together for the past two months. They don't know that Luke's William's dad and up until three weeks ago, neither did he. 

Lorelai looked up and met Rachel's gaze. 

- Oh, the redhead muttered. 

- Omph, William said, interrupting the conversation, while attempting to climb further up in his mother's arms. 

He buried his head in the nook of her neck. Normally this was a sign that he was tired or not feeling well, but he was not rubbing his eyes, like he did when he was tired, nor was he feeling warm. One hand was clinging onto her shoulder, the other was pulling on her blouse, rubbing the fabric between his fingers, sticking his thumb in his mouth. Lorelai suddenly realized that it probably was a couple of hours since William last had eaten, save the chocolate of course and that he might be getting hungry. 

- Hey, she said. - Do you know what time it is? 

Rachel checked the watch on her wrist for a second. 

- Almost noon, she replied. - Why? 

- I think someone's getting hungry, Lorelai said, planting a kiss on her son's head. - And mommy's too distracted to notice. 

William pulled on her blouse again. 

- I think you're right about that, Rachel nodded, observing the boy. 

- You staying for lunch, Lorelai asked her. - Sookie does a mean Risotto that just has to be experienced. 

- I can't, Rachel sighed. - Work, remember? 

- Right, the assignment, Lorelai chuckled, smacking her free hand against her head. - I swear it's coming back to me, now. 

- The place is great, Rachel complimented Lorelai. - Really beautiful restoration. 

- Yeah, too bad the whole 'throwing up on your blouse'-thing put a damper on the whole tour, Lorelai said, regretfully. - I only got to show you the lobby. 

- It's a great lobby, Rachel insisted. 

- At least let me show you the dining room before you go, Lorelai pleaded. 

- How about instead I come back for lunch, say Friday, Rachel suggested. - And you can show me everything then? 

- I'd say you have a deal, Lorelai grinned, jokingly offering her hand to Rachel. 

Rachel chuckled and shook on the deal. She glanced down on her wristwatch again, getting that 'shit, I'm running late'-look on her face. 

- So, she said, already backing towards the door, initiating her leaving. - I'll come by around noon, Friday? 

- Noon it is, Lorelai nodded. 

- Thanks for the shirt, Rachel told her, gesturing to the blouse. 

- You're welcome. 

TBC 


	94. Little sister knows best

AN: Oy with the delays. Okay, so I'm no longer at my parents' house, which I think could turn out to be a positive thing for this fic. Not as many distractions, more alone time... lol And it's still 2 more weeks before I start working, another positive thing. Let's hope this is a positive thing and not me giving empty promises. After all, the new Harry Potter book is coming out in two days and I can't promise I won't be at least a little bit distracted by it, but then again so might many of you be as well. Okay, so congrats to the ones who caught my Grey's Anatomy reference, yup, I am officially hooked on that show. I've even started reading fanfics for it. Those of you who're getting alert signs in your eyes, you shouldn't worry too much. 1) I am in this fic too deep to abandone it in favor of writing something new and 2) I am pretty much clueless on the whole medicine thing and it's pretty impossible for me to write a good GA fic without including some of their actual life at the hospital. So although I love the show, I think I might stick to reading opposed to writing. 

AN 2: To my beta Steph, I wouldn't be able to do this without you :) 

**JJ-fan** - Aww, I always love hearing from fellow Norwegian JJ's. As for your a bit too thorough guess on my obsession, I'm actually a MerDer fan, but the timeline made it so that it could only be Addison and Derek making the trip. I do love Addison, though, I think she's absolutely brilliant, especially a certain thing she does in the end of 3x01, if I ever was unfortunate enough to end up in her position I hope I would be as creative, because that was just awesome. 

**smileyGGfan** - I agree with you on the Rachel thing. I think it was sad that we never heard from her again after season 1. There was just so much potential there and I think she would've made a nice recurring character every now and then. 

**MissDeLys** - I'm kinda the opposite, I love reading LL fics where Rachel shows up, unless the writer brings her in to stir trouble or make her a bitch, then I click the little x in the corner and never look back, but when written well I think Rachel still has something to offer and I really wanted to take advantage of the possibility of bringing her back. 

**JLarah** - Well, if you study season 5 and think about the factors that went into it turning out the way it did, you should notice that a lot of the catalysts for events have already been eliminated, due to 'at the time' small changes, which will obviously send me into writing many things differently. 

**cywen69** - I was actually worried how people would react when Rachel guessed William to be Luke's since Mia also knew it, but as I was thinking things through it was impossible for me to have her think in any other way, because of how she left. I'm glad that you all seemed to have no problems with that. 

**Copop** - lol, you summed up William's inner emotions pretty well. That's exactly what I was going for. And honestly, do you really think I'd go through a lot of trouble and bring Rachel into the mix just so she could go after Luke? I like Rachel, plus there's only so much soapy storylines I can take, you know. 

**inge-loves-lost** - I know the Dutch are very capable in english, my comment was simply on ASP at least not making her Scandinavian. I know the milkmaid thing was very insulting and very unoriginal. She really could've done better. 

**chants** - Nice guess on the Molten chocolate lava cake, but I've actually never tasted it. I needed a specific chocolate cake and I remember one of my idols keep mentioning it in her blogs, so I went with it.

* * *

- Okay, Luke, Liz finally said one day he was visiting her. - When are you finally gonna let me in on whatever's bothering you? 

She was halfway sitting up in bed, one leg raised up in a sling. She'd been struggling with a particularly difficult pair of ear rings when Luke had arrived ten minutes earlier, but was now simply sitting with her arms crossed, eyeing him carefully. If it hadn't been for TJ snoring like a jackhammer in the other corner of the room, where he laid sprawled out on the bed on his back, his mouth hanging wide open, it would've been quiet enough to hear a pin drop. 

- Nothing's bothering me, Luke quickly dismissed, not really feeling in the mood to talk. 

- Oh really, Liz challenged. - Is that why you've been moping around ever since you got here? 

- I have not been moping, Luke denied, half-heartedly. 

- You've been moping, Liz insisted. - You may think you can hide whatever you're feeling behind this monosyllabic gruff exterior you present to other people, but I'm your sister, so I know better, okay? 

- Oh, so you're a mind reader now, Luke shot out. 

- No, I'm a Luke reader, Liz retorted. - I would've seen that even if I wasn't physically tied up to this hospital bed. 

- Well, when you keep trying to escape.., Luke began. 

- You do not get to change the subject, Liz said, warningly, waving her finger at him. - I'm not the subject here. Now, I've been bedridden for weeks... 

- Thought you said this wasn't about you, Luke commented. 

- Shut up, she snapped, using that strict voice he'd almost never before heard her use. - I've been bedridden for weeks with almost nothing to do except entertain my husband, making jewelry with whatever limited use I have of my left hand fingers and chit-chatting with the nurses, so my already well-honed people-reading skills have gotten so intense that I think that if I stay here any longer I'll start to _feel_ your mood before you even come through those doors. 

Luke rolled his eyes at her, but didn't say anything. 

- Did you and Lorelai have a fight, Liz enquired. - Is that what this is all about? 

- What makes you think that, Luke asked, already knowing it was only a matter of minutes before Liz had him spill the beans. 

- Oh please, Liz snorted. - At first I was gonna give you the benefit of the doubt, since I know you're not big on the whole Renaissance ordeal and being yanked away from your daily routine, plus I couldn't trust my hunches cause of all the drugs they were pumping into me to numb the pain. Wasn't I pretty high that first time, too? 

- Yeah, you were philosophizing about why we dress symmetrically, Luke supplied. 

- _Right_, cause I was wearing two different socks on the day of the accident, Liz chuckled. - Gotta love that morphine, huh? 

- You forget I've seen you on pot about five thousand times, Luke commented, dryly. 

- Again, I'm not what's important here, Liz dismissed. 

- I'm not the one going off on a tangent, Luke pointed out. 

- I don't see you jumping in to stop me anytime soon, Liz remarked. 

- I'm not particularly keen on having this discussion, Luke shrugged. 

- So it _is_ about Lorelai, Liz concluded. - I mean, I thought as much, since the last time I saw you two you were inseparable and you haven't mentioned her in any way or form since the wedding. And judging by the lack of smiles coming from you, I'm even tempted to guess you haven't even called her at all while being here. 

She paused and studied him for a couple of seconds. 

- So, she continued. - Do you care to tell me about this fight of yours or do I have to drag it out of you? 

Luke felt himself give in. If there was one thing he could say about Liz, it was that she was good at making him talk when he didn't paticularily care to. 

- It's... complicated, he tried. 

- Well, I wasn't exactly expecting you to say it was a spat over who does the dishes, Liz pointed out, dryly, raising her brows. - So, let me guess. Is it about William? 

Luke sighed and avoided eye contact, which he knew Liz would only take as a confirmation. 

- Did his dad show up, Liz asked. 

Her voice was not as pointed as it had been earlier; it was softer, warmer, more understanding. 

- You could say that, Luke said, hoarsely. 

- And Lorelai wants him in his kid's life, Liz guessed. 

Luke sighed and placed his head in his hands, tugging on his hair, as if it would relieve some of the weight he was carrying around. He couldn't truthfully say no to Liz's questions, even though she was completely barking up the wrong tree. 

- So, you worry about your place in William's life, Liz continued. 

- I'm him, Luke cut her off, taking a deep breath before continuing in an unstable voice. - William's my kid. 

Before Luke knew it, he was telling Liz the whole story from beginning to end. She was very patient, very non-meddling, very non-Liz about it. She just sat and listened, not interrupting, not asking questions. She let him finish, even breathe, before she spoke again. 

- So, you left, she stated. 

- I left, he confirmed. - I got up, walked past her to the door, and I left. 

He'd said it in a calm, narrative voice, which, as he thought back to the night, suddenly broke into a low, disbelieving chuckle. The memory of Lorelai desperately shouting his name filled his head. 

- She begged me to say something, to stay, he said, hoarsely. - And I just left. 

It was as though all of his suppressed emotions floated to the surface and he was overwhelmed with anger, hurt, not to mention; guilt. He got up from his seat and started pacing. The guilt part was what surprised him. In the heat of the moment he had felt justified to walk away, to take the space he needed to process the shock that Lorelai had just laid on him, but now he was haunted by how fragile and vulnerable she had looked the moment she had told him. 

- She called me, he continued. - The next day, while I was working. She called. I said I was busy, couldn't talk. 

- You were angry, Liz shrugged. 

Luke nodded, inwardly thinking that 'angry' had been the understatement of the year. In reality he'd lied when he'd said he was busy. As he'd promised himself away as a babysitter, he hadn't anticipated coming in at all that day. So even though the diner had been packed when she called, it had been in perfectly capable hands, enabling him to slip away without it making much of a difference. He simply had chosen not to seize the opportunity he'd been given, the wounds from the day before still too fresh for him to deal with. Their shortlived 'conversation' over the phone hadn't done much to heal them, if anything it had only ended up feeding his anger and frustration. 

- She said she _wanted_ to tell me, he said, bitterly, recalling the few words they had exchanged in the heat of the moment. 

- Maybe she did, Liz said, helpfully. 

- I was right there, Luke pointed out. - For a whole year I was right there. We saw each other every single day. She had every opportunity in the world to tell me, but she chose not to. 

- Did you even ask her why, Liz wondered. 

- She said something about getting married, divorce and not ruining anything, Luke said, shaking his head, as he tried to make sense out of it. 

- Well, Liz said, taking a few seconds pause to get his attention. - You _did_ marry another woman. 

- You're saying this is _my_ fault, Luke asked in disbelief. 

- No, Liz shook her head, sighing. - Not your fault, I'm just trying to point out that it probably wasn't easy for her, either. 

Having sunk down into a semi-lying position, Liz stopped talking to push herself back up to a sitting position with her good arm and foot. Luke offered to help, but she waved him off. 

- Didn't you say Lorelai found out about the baby while she was in Europe, she asked, finally back to a comfortable position. 

Luke just nodded. After all, what reason did Lorelai have to lie about that? 

- And that was around the time you and Nicole went on that cruise, Liz continued. - The one you got married on? 

- I've only ever been on one cruise, Liz, Luke remarked, dryly. 

- Sounds to me that Lorelai didn't want to stir trouble with the nuptials. 

Luke wanted to object, saying there was no way Lorelai could've known about him and Nicole tying the knot, immediately after coming home, but then he reminded himself of how quickly gossip traveled in the town and exactly who Lorelai's closest neighbor was. When he thought more about it, it was not so unlikely that Lorelai had gotten to know the minute she had returned to Stars Hollow. And she had definitely found out before he had the chance to tell her, as he could remember her springing the subject on him, out of the blue, catching him off-guard while they were packing up Rory's things. There was just one thing clashing with Liz's theory; Lorelai had known about the divorce. He'd told her about it almost immediately after she had brought the subject up. 

- She knew, Luke told her, shaking his head. - She knew Nicole and I were splitting up. I told her. 

- I'm not saying my theory's perfect or anything, Liz pointed out. - I'm kinda working with the glass half-full here. Maybe she was just scared or she thought you had enough on your plate as it was and opted to wait. You and I both know how claustrophobic you can get when things pile up and you're forced to multitask. 

She reached out and took his hand. 

- Look, she said, looking him in the eyes. - I'm not saying it's your fault. Not at all. I'm just planting the thought that maybe there's more to it than meets the eye. But if you want to find out, I'm not who you should ask. Just hear her out. Give her the chance to explain. It might not be what you think it is. 

A sudden snort could be heard from the other side of the room, alerting both of them that TJ was waking up. Liz, understanding Luke didn't want more people meddling with his business than he already had, just squeezedhis hand, to remind him what she'd just said and to assure him that things would work out. Luke sent her a grateful smile and nodded. 

TBC 


	95. Guess who's coming to lunch

AN: Okay, 11 days, that's at least sooner than it took for the last update. Here's to hoping I can be quicker with the next one ;) I have one more week before I start working and then we're looking at strictly evenings and weekends, but who knows, maybe that will turn out to be good for me. Let's hope so at least. I managed to finish the 7th Harry Potter book in just a little over a day, who else did that? And who else thought the epilogue was kinda cheesy? I mean, it was sweet and all, but just didn't fit in more as a quick; let's tell them what happened next thing. But the book itself was awesome, for those of you who are still reading, I'm not gonna give anything away, so don't worry. And I've discovered a new music artist that I simply love; Kate Havnevik. What I find ironic is that I found out about her through Grey's Anatomy and then it turns out she's Norwegian. Funny. As usual lot's of love for my beta, Steph :) 

**nevaeh11084** - Wow, really? Two days? I think you just sat a record in CF-reading, congratulations :) Wear your title with pride ;) 

**smileyGGfan** - You know, I'm really not one for planning big events on big number chapters. The only major event that happened on a big number chapter was chapter 50, the other chapter numbers were pretty random in my opinion. So can't say if number 100 will be more or less special than the other's. I have a rough plan, but sometimes a chapter can be eliminated, other times there can be a sudden additional chapter I hadn't thought of before. It's random, hon. It's very random. 

**Copop** - I figured people would realize it was about Liz. I love Liz, too and I will definitely use her again, probably more than once. 

**MissDeLys** - There's a point to all of this, just trust me. They need this time and each chapter contains something very important for the continuation for the story. I can understand your view that it seems like the story's slowing down, but it's really not. I think a factor on why you're feeling this comes from my less frequent updates, so it seems even longer than it really is. Trust me when I say I'm not drifting aimlessly and there's a point to everything. This is a slower paced story than most others out there and I think you know that I know what I'm doing. As for the quote quiz, should I really dignify that one with an answer? Honestly, Rory says it in the pilot when Lorelai hands her the skirt, hello!?!

* * *

Friday a little after noon, Lorelai was standing outside a small coffee shop, located at one of Hartford's more busy streets. There had almost been no traffic on the way in, which she had to admit was a bit unusual and had put her ahead of schedule. However, finding a parking spot had proven to become somewhat of a problem and she had finally just given in and driven to the parking lot near the community college she'd once attended, six blocks away. Not being one for wristwatches, Lorelai had no means of telling her whether or not she was running late. She fished the stroller out from the back of the jeep and as quickly as she could, fastened the baby bag around the handle. Then, as she went back to the front seat to get William, she could smell the need for a diaper change and she had no choice but to fetch the bag again, grab a diaper from it, as well as the pack of moist wipes that she'd packed just in case. You just never knew when it would come in handy. The diaper, along with a couple of extra moist wipes for her own hands, was dumped in the nearest trash can and she was finally on her way. 

Lorelai began to wonder if this was going to be one of those days where she oughta look to the sky to make sure no anvils were going to drop onto her head. Only when she was already half-way there did she remember to flip her phone open to check what time it was. She noticed a missed call, probably from when she'd been preoccupied with the stroller, but as she was only a couple of minutes away anyway, she saw no point in calling back, as she was by then only two blocks away. 

Rachel had called the Dragonfly that morning to inform Lorelai that she couldn't make it to lunch, as the company car she usually used to get to and from her assignments had been lent out to one of the magazine's reporters, who needed to go to New York that day to interview an up and coming band who were holding their very first large concert there that very evening. The decision had apparently been made early that morning before Rachel had come in and being the freelancer that she was, she was constantly last in line to borrow anything. Rachel had joked that maybe she ought to look into maybe getting herself a more permanent position, then quickly dismissed the idea, as she loved the freedom to say no if she felt she had a better offer. 

Knowing in the back of her mind that she would soon need to restock on office supplies, Lorelai decided to grab the opportunity to combine it with seeing Rachel again and suggested meeting her in Hartford for lunch. After all, she could show her around the inn some other time. Rachel had suggested a coffee shop that she usually went to on her lunch break and there Lorelai was now. Pulling the door open with one hand, she backed herself in and pulled the stroller with her with the other. It was only when she had closed the door behind her that she noticed that the place was packed to the brim. She quickly scanned the nearby area to see if she could spot Rachel anywhere. The tables continued around the corner, but Lorelai saw no point in trying to maneuver the stroller through the crowd when she wasn't sure where exactly Rachel was sitting. Parking the stroller in a vacant corner, she loosened the baby bag and hoisted it up on her shoulder, then grabbed her own purse, Bunny and a couple of other items which had made their way into William's lap, before picking her son up, almost knocking someone over in the process. 

- I'm really sorry, she muttered, trying to prevent anything, least of all William from slipping from her grip. 

- No problem, a man's voice replied somewhere behind her, a small chuckle escaping his lips. - You need any help? 

Finally getting the juggling act under control, Lorelai turned around. 

- No, that's..., she began, then stopped dead in her tracks. - M-Max? 

Why she hadn't recognized the voice, at least noticed its familiarity was beyond her. If she hadn't had her hands full she would've pinched her arm to make sure she wasn't just having one of those awkward dreams. Tough why she would be dreaming about Max after not having seen or heard any mention of him in over a year was beyond her. After deciding that this couldn't in any way be a dream, she started looking around the place to see if she could spot any hidden cameras. Out of all the coffe shops in Hartford, he just happened to walk into the one she was at? 

- Lorelai, he replied, just as surprised, but less stuttering, then raised his brows as he tried to follow her eyes. - Are you alright? 

Snapping back out of it, Lorelai met his confused gaze. 

- I'm fine, she assured him, regaining her power of speech. - Just recovering from return of the exes week. 

- I'm sorry, he asked, confused. 

- Long story, she muttered, waving it off. - So... Max Medina... what brings you to this neck of the woods? 

- You do remember I live here, Max commented, amused. 

- I meant _here_ here, as in coffee shop _here_, Lorelai elaborated. - Out of all coffee shops you could've gone to, you had to walk into mine. This isn't exactly just a stroll down from Chilton. Assuming you're still there, I mean. 

- I still teach there, Max chuckled. - I'm meeting my girlfriend for lunch, actually. As for it being out of the way, that's why they came up with this brilliant invention called the automobile. 

- Ah, Lorelai nodded. - See, I learn something new every day. 

She was surprised how natural it felt to just stand there and talk to Max like an old friend. Although they had parted amicably after the whole kiss incident, both of them viewing it as nothing short of a mistake, she had at least expected some form of awkwardness in meeting him again. That's what usually happened when you ran into an ex. She began wondering if maybe the awkwardness and the kiss they had shared in the empty classroom at Chilton had actually been a good thing for them. After as good as leaving him at the altar, Lorelai had always deep inside wondered if she had made the right choice or if she had just given into pre-wedding jitters. And just getting the kiss out of the way, just finally knowing for herself that she had made the right choice and to hear Max believing the same thing. Maybe that had just been what was needed to place a definite finality to their relationship. 

- Good to see you're still you, Max chuckled, obviously referring to her witty comebacks, then letting his gaze wander over to William. - But some things have definitely changed. 

- Yeah, Lorelai nodded. - This is my son, William. 

- Hello there, William, Max greeted the baby. 

So far William had been facing his mother, seeking shelter in her arms, but hearing his name, he turned his head halfway as if to see who this stranger was. William gazed at Max for the longest time, then wrinkled his nose, stuck his thumb in his mouth, then hid his face in the nook of Lorelai's neck. 

- Sorry, Lorelai apologized. - It's just lately, he's gotten a bit shy around strangers. 

- It's okay, he assured her. - My sister's kid went through a similar phase. Luckily I was favorite uncle Max, so I kinda slipped in under the radar. 

- A great privilege, Lorelai acknowledged. - When Rory had hers, her first tooth also just happened to be coming in and the only one she would let give her the teething ring, besides me, was Mia, who owned the Independence inn. 

- Yeah, what happened with that, Max suddenly asked. - I remember hearing something about a fire. 

- Yeah, it burned down, Lorelai nodded. - Over a year ago. 

- I'm sorry, Max said, sincerely. - That couldn't have been easy. 

- Yeah, it really wasn't, Lorelai chuckled. - But I'm fine now. I think it's one of those things you said to Rory in that interview. 

- You read that, Max interrupted her. 

Lorelai smiled and nodded. 

- I read everything she writes. It was a really good piece. I remember you said something about everything turning out for the best or something along that line. The Independence burning down, no matter how hard it was for me to lose those memories, it was the perfect set-up to finally get started on that dream of mine to open up my own place. 

- And did you? 

- It officially opened three weeks ago, she grinned. 

- When things change with you, they really change, Max chuckled. - Next thing you'll be telling me is that Rory didn't go to Harvard. 

Before Lorelai had the chance to come with a witty comeback to that, she heard someone call her name. 

- _Lorelai!_

Turning her head, she saw Rachel approaching them from a table Lorelai could clearly remember had been occupied by someone else when she'd first come in. How long had she been talking to Max, exactly? If she hadn't had her hands completely full she would've checked the clock on her cell. Max had turned his head too, when Rachel had called her name. Lorelai was about to introduce the two, when Rachel leaned in to him and placed a quick peck on his lips. 

- Hey babe, she greeted him, slightly confused. - Did you tell me you were stopping by and I just forgot? 

Before Max had time to answer, Rachel turned to Lorelai. 

- I'm so sorry you had to wait, she told her, sincerely. - Mike, my boss, wanted to go over which pictures to use for this article before I took lunch and then one of his meetings went a bit longer than expected, so basically it was ten past before we could even get started. I tried calling to let you know, but I got no answer. 

Max looked back and forth between Rachel and Lorelai with an amused look on his face. 

- So, you know my girlfriend, he stated. 

- Apparently. 

It was the first thing she'd managed to say since she had realized Rachel was in fact Max's girlfriend. Her ex-fiancИ and Luke's former girlfriend. Together. Just. What were the odds? Really. Lorelai barely resisted the temptation to scout the place again for hidden cameras. Rachel looked back and forth between Lorelai and Max, slightly confused. 

- How do you.., she began, then made the connection. - Right. Of course. I completely forgot that Rory used to go to Chilton. Of course you guys know each other. Max was Rory's teacher, wasn't he? 

_And my fiancИ_, Lorelai added inwardly, but figured it wasn't up to her to mention it. Plus, things were awkward enough as they were without having to bring up how they both used to date each other's former significant other. She also remembered how uncomfortable Max had been about Luke's place in her life and how a fight about that had sparked the initial proposal. 

- How do you two know each other, Max wanted to know. 

- My ex introduced us, actually, Rachel replied, matter-of-factly. - He owns a diner in Stars Hollow, where Lorelai lives and I was stopping by after a trip to the Mideast. What was it, two years ago? 

She turned her gaze to Lorelai at the last thing. 

- Three, Lorelai supplied, a bit impressed by Rachel's straight forwardness. 

- Right, three, Rachel nodded. - Boy, time just flies by, doesn't it? Anyway, I ran into her a couple of days ago when I went to check out the inn she just opened. 

- You knew about that, Max asked, then turned to Lorelai. - I thought you said you just opened it. 

- I spotted the ad in the paper, Rachel explained. - And figured since I already had the 'before' shot... 

- Rachel was the one who showed me the property in the first place, Lorelai added. 

- So, I ran into Lorelai when I stopped by to take a couple of 'after' shots while I was on my way to Danbury. 

- So that's what you meant with the 'return of the exes week' before, Max asked Lorelai, making the connection. 

- Pretty much, Lorelai nodded. 

- Wait, three years, Max said, counting back. - Wasn't that when we... 

- Yup, Lorelai confirmed, nodding again. 

The actual lunch proved to be much less awkward. Once all the cats had been let out of the bag, they all found that they could talk more lightly about the subject, even make a couple of jokes about how they really should've made the switch back then, and saved the time. Lorelai got to hear how the two of them had initially met. 

They had run into each other at a coffee shop in Providence where Max was teaching a summer course. The floorboards had been uneven and Rachel had stubbed her toe against an edge, almost tripping and spilling her coffee over some unsuspecting stranger, only to regain her footing in the last minute. Both of them had noticed the other was alone too and had started talking. Neither had thought much of it that first time, but they both continued heading back to the same coffee shop several times over the next few weeks, both using the really good coffee as an excuse whenever they ran into one another. At the end of summer, they were heading in different directions. Rachel had just been offered a really good photography gig down in Chile and Max was, of course, heading back to Hartford as school was starting up again. She didn't think too much of it then, but when her work finished and she was flying back to the states, Rachel had spontaneously booked the very next flight to Hartford, not even knowing his address, neither of them having believed the other had been more than just a summer fling. She'd looked up his address in the phone book and had surprised him by literally showing up on his door step. It had started with her just being his houseguest for a few days, which turned into weeks, and before they knew it, they were living together as a couple. 

Luke was only mentioned a couple of times during the meal, firstly as part of Rachel's back story in Stars Hollow, then he was mentioned again when they were talking about William, seeing as he was William's father. Neither Lorelai or Rachel said much more, Lorelai because she didn't really want to delve into the long and complicated situation her and Luke were in and Rachel because she, knowing the little she knew, didn't want to make Lorelai uncomfortable. Luckily Max wasn't one to pry and simply wanted Lorelai to pass on his congrats. The last time it came up was when Rachel remembered that she'd brought something to give to Lorelai and handed her the photograph that she'd taken of Lorelai and Luke at the firelight festival, three years ago, only this time it had been placed in a pretty, silver-colored frame. 

As the conversation carried onto other topics, Lorelai couldn't help but glance down every now and then at the picture. She studied their postures and how comfortable they looked together. And she finally saw what it was everyone had been talking about for so many years; the looks they were giving each other. Had it really been that obvious for everyone around them, or was just Rachel such an exceptionable photographer that she'd chosen the exact right moment to push that little button on her camera? The rest of the meal was a bit hazy in her memory, because the next thing she knew, they were saying goodbye outside the shop. Rachel had been called back by her boss and Max had to hurry back to Chilton for his next class. They promised however to keep in touch. 

Back at the inn, Lorelai first went into her office, putting the baby bag down next to her desk, with the bag with the blouse Rachel had borrowed from her the last time she saw her. Lorelai knew that she should get back out and get to work, but she couldn't help but look at the photograph one more time. 

- Bahbabababah, William chanted. 

Lorelai smiled and kissed the top of his head. 

- Bababah, William said again. - Babah. 

It was then she looked down and saw that his small chubby fingers were running along the glass of the photograph. His index finger landing on Luke. 

- Babah, William repeated, looking up at his mother. - Babah. 

TBC 


	96. Voicemail

AN: Ok, so surprise, surprise. I'm updating within a week again. Can't say for sure if I'll keep it up, since I start work monday, but I'm gonna try at least. The chapter's short, but hey, at least I was quick with it ;) As always, big love for Steph, my lovely beta. 

**MissDeLys** - Glad you trust me. As for your quote quizzes, I'm gonna do them halfway and say who says them; Kirk in season 5 while LL is broken up and Madeleine to Paris after Tristan asked her out. 

**cywen69** - This is not gonna be one of those stories where all the exes hook up. I've wanted to put Rachel and Max together for ages. They are my second ship on the show and I honestly think they could've been a great couple. The 'babah' is basically what it is, William putting two syllables together into a word. If it means 'daddy' or something else, well that's up for interpertation. We don't know what's going on in his mind at the moment, so what we get is Lorelai's interpertation. As for sounds, I've been very distinct on showing William's love for the b's. And what babies tend to do can vary a lot. None of my nieces started with d's, they did some m-sounds and b/p-sounds first. D came later. 

**smileyGGfan** - I was hoping there would be surprise and that not everyone guessed it when Lorelai ran into Max. Glad that I at least succeeded with you :) 

**Severien** - In Norwegian, the word for daddy is 'pappa', so very close ;) 

**Copop** - lol, you honestly thought I was gonna bring in a third part to make trouble? Honestly, my name isn't Amy and you know it ;) I'm surprised you and the rest of the FF people didn't suspect it, since I've always been very much of a pro Max/Rachel pairing person. 

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - Yay! You're back! I missed you! But why did you stop at 94, when the next chapter was already up?

* * *

He hadn't heard his phone ring. He didn't know why, since it was loud as hell and he couldn't for the life of him figure out how to change the setting, as the display screen more resembled a Tricorder than something supposedly anyone could work. The only reason he knew it rang was because a customer pointed it out to him as he'd handed her the ear rings she'd just purchased and by the time he reached his backpack and pulled it out, it stopped ringing. The display screen was flashing a number, but a couple of right or wrong clicks, he wasn't sure which, and the number had vanished and left was a strange little symbol in the corner, right underneath the company logo. Not trusting that he'd hear the phone should it ring again, he slipped it into his pocket. Minutes passed, then all of a sudden the phone started beeping. Probably having picked up on his distress, a bypasser took pity on him and gave him a quick crash course in checking his voice mail. Luke wasn't so sure it would stick, but at least he could listen to _this_ message. 

- _Hi, Luke. It's me_, Lorelai's voice said. - _And I just realized how stupid that sounded, since you obviously can hear who it is and even if you for some reason couldn't, I didn't exactly give anything away, now, did I?_

Luke failed to suppress a smirk as he listened to her nervous rambling. It had been a full three weeks since he had last talked to her and it wasn't until that very moment when he heard her voice again that it really hit him how much he really missed her, despite it all. But maybe on some level he'd known hearing her voice would do this to him, because he'd lost track of how many times he'd thought about calling; to hear how William was doing, to make sure he was alright, maybe hear him babble away in his own little language that nobody but him understood. But it had never been more than a thought, a musing, because even though he'd be calling about William, she'd be the one he'd end up talking to. He'd considered mentioning Lorelai and William when he'd called to check in on the diner, but as he couldn't be sure exactly how much Lane knew, he'd let it slide. After all, if there was anything, then Lorelai would call, wouldn't she? And by chance anything happened to Lorelai preventing her from calling, then Lane would mention it, right? 

- _So, William's down for a nap and I've been pondering for the last half hour whether or not to call you. Not in a 'to call or not to call' kind of way, it's been more of a timing thing. Because you wanted space and I want you to have space. So I was originally leaning towards 'later', then figured I might end up waking you up. I don't really know if you keep your phone on at night or not. I think you do, because you wanted me to call if there was anything and so, here I am, doing that. I should probably get to the point soon, right? So here goes; William said his first word..._

As she said it, Luke's heart literally stopped. Or he felt as though it should have. He hadn't been sure what new events to expect next, but the first word certainly hadn't been it. 

- _Or okay_, Lorelai continued. - _I can't say for sure if it can be considered a word-word, because he's been favoring the 'b'-sounds for a while now. I should probably at some point say what the word was. It was 'babah'. Now, it could mean a myriad of things and it could mean nothing, because, like I said, he's been saying 'bah', for the longest time and just today he put more than one syllable together. But the point is, Luke, he was pointing at a picture of you when he said it..._

And with that, he stopped breathing, again figuratively speaking. 

- _So, it might mean 'daddy' or it might just be him trying out some more sounds. Not that I think it changes anything, because Luke, knowingly or not, for your son, you've always been his daddy. That's one of the really great things about babies. They don't get so caught up in the semantics as we adults tend to do. He's always taken to you, trusted you. And he misses you, Luke. I know there's probably several debates on how much babies really notice their surroundings, but I swear Luke, he knows you're not here. He used to light up when we went to the diner, but now it upsets him. He doesn't let me put him down in the high chair anymore and when I do, if I disappear from his sight just for a moment he cries. It's not all the time, every day, but he does it._

And at that moment, a pang of guilt hit him like a ton of bricks. He didn't know why he hadn't thought about it. Maybe because some part of him was convinced that because Lorelai had waited for so long to tell him the truth, that he hadn't really been that much of an important part of his son's life. Not that he wanted to excuse it, because at that moment he felt horrible for leaving at all. He'd been so caught up with the fight and the betrayal, that he'd been completely unaware of the fact that William would actually notice, that William could be hurt. He had always been so angry with Jimmy for abandoning Liz and Jess, and with Rory's dad for doing the same, but at that moment, he felt no better than either of them. True, he had told Lorelai he was just clearing his head and that he would come back, but he hadn't given her anything specific as in how long until she could expect him back, nor had he remembered that although Lorelai understood, William didn't and wasn't supposed to. 

- _I miss you, too_, Lorelai added, after a little pause. - _I know I should probably have called you sooner than this, but I'm only connecting the dots myself. I'm not used to this. Rory never really had much problem with Chris being absent, I mean yeah, she would be upset when he broke a promise he'd made her, like not calling or not showing up when he said he was, but other than that, the fact that he was gone most of the time, didn't really seem to affect her. But Rory never got used to Chris being more than a voice over the phone, someone she'd occasionally see over the holidays. She's fine or mostly fine without her dad, but William's not fine without you, Luke, not by a longshot. I know you're still angry with me and you have every right to be, but you were always his dad, Luke. Always._

Her last words were followed by a beep and some woman, sounding like some sort of television hostess, started babbling about his voicemail options. Luke didn't really pay attention to it, didn't care which buttons he had to press to do what. His mind was on the message, what she said, what she hadn't said. He still hadn't come to any definite conclusion, but it was clear to him, that he wasn't going to find one by staying put. Sooner or later he'd have to go back and face it and he'd just have to handle things as they happened. Because it wasn't just him and Lorelai, but their son as well. 

TBC 


	97. Lost and Found

AN: I think I should mention that whatever views the character has of a situation, it doesn't necessarily mean those are my views, like say with Luke comparing himself with certain deadbeats, believing himself to be just as bad. So not my thoughts, but Luke being who he is, those would be his thoughts. So even though no one commented on it, I felt it might have been implied, so thought I'd just clear that up right away. So, what's new with me? Well, work, people. Started my first real job now and man; information overload! And I might be sent to work in another town, so might have to stay at hotels 4 days out of the week. Not sure, yet, but it's pointing towards it... Oh well, good thing hotels have net access. Well, the last one had, so hope the next will, too. Me without net access? Trust me, you don't want to know. But it's exciting and I'm earning money. Finally, cause man, I'm so broke right now, had to borrow a ton of money from mom and dad to make it through this month. But enough about that, let's just all blow a kiss at Steph, my always faithful beta! 

**CathyCoffee** - Ah, I love the smell of new reviewers in the morning. And lol on your dream. Any chance you might reveal to me what that dream was? Or are you just gonna wait and let me know if my scenario was anything similar or not? Thank you so much for the nice words and the support and I'm glad you even like the fight, cause man, not all people do... lol 

**smileyGGfan** - Glad to hear your opinions on Luke comparing himself and I completely, utterly agree with you, that those were completely different circumstances and those two completely abandoned their kids for no good reason, were never there. Luke is there and we all know he will be there again. If it hadn't been for Liz, he wouldn't even have taken off at all. 

**The Mrs.Ventimiglia** - My thoughts exactly. 

**JLarah** - Already mentioned this in a pm, but repeating myself here. Although, yes, I did do this to bring two people together because I like them together (but hoped I gave a good reasoning for why they fell for each other), there's also something important Lorelai needed to learn that Rachel being with Max could provide; that honesty in a relationship, no matter how uncomfortable it might be, is the best policy. Lorelai likes to avoid certain topics, because they're uncomfortable and in many cases that ends up blowing up in her face. And Luke's cluelessness about voicemail _did_ happen on the show, so I had to work it in somehow. 

**cywen69** - Love that people get so into analizing and discussing everything. I agree with you that Rachel is very on the go, but I believe that she'd be willing to partly sacrifise it in order to have a working relationship. And I could see a compromise being made between these two people, should they get together. Rachel has the light and fun quality that we know Max fell for in Lorelai, so I could see him being able to fall for Rachel. 

**Copop** - She _is_ able to follow through, but sometimes she needs a push and William was just that push. 

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - I've seen it, too. A friend of mine's family went on vacation, but the youngest were to little to go with, so they had the grandma watch him, so when they came back, he simply refused to let his parents out of sight, because he was scared they would leave him again. That was a huge inspiration when I was facing the challenge of describing how William was taking it.

* * *

It was in the middle of a slightly grey, but otherwise nice Sunday afternoon and Lorelai sat crosslegged in the middle of her bed, rummaging through the contents of a couple of cardboard boxes she'd stuffed at the back of her linen closet. She'd been going at it for the last couple of hours, going through everything, William sitting on her lap. One box had been filled with little things and keepsakes from when Rory'd been little. It wasn't that much that wasn't in some way or form already holding a decorative spot somewhere in the house, but it had been enough to fill a box almost to the rim. There weren't many of Rory's old clothes that had escaped when Lorelai had decided to make herself a quilt, but the ones that had were still lying in that box, together with Rory's old rattle, which William took an immediate interest to, a baby blanket, a mobile and an old photo album from the days of the shed that Lorelai had believed to be lost, as she hadn't bothered to unpack the box marked 'Rory's baby things' since Rory had been almost eleven when they moved and didn't really need her _blankie_ anymore. 

William had temporarily put the rattle down when Lorelai had cracked it open. He eagerly pointed to various pictures making little questioning sounds, none of them remotely resembling his 'word' from a couple of days ago. A couple of times he turned his head and looked at her when she explained who was on the pictures, before looking back down, as if he understood what she was telling him. When she'd turned the last page and closed the book, William pointed at it, insisting for her to open it again. It was then one of the first pictures caught her attention; Rory in her little Bananarama jumper. Putting the book down, letting William get free reign over turning the pages back and forth, which he struggled a little bit with first, but seemed to get the hang of it after a couple of attempts, she reached over to the smaller box which she knew contained the item in question. 

She studied the jumper for a couple of minutes, an idea slowly forming in her head. True, she had money now and it was no longer a necessity to make her own baby clothes, but there was just something special about making something for your own kid. She'd been really proud of that jumper and had put it to good use before Rory grew out of it, and she wanted William to have something she could be as equally nostalgic about. Exactly what hadn't come to her right away, but after she'd put William down for his nap and had packed up everything, save the old photo album, and was stuffing it back into the closet, a pink monstrosity of a bag caught her attention and she remembered what was still inside it. Unzipping it halfway, she slipped her hand in and pulled out the two items, bringing them back with her to her bedroom, laying them out flat on her bed. 

She couldn't believe that a whole year had passed since she'd been standing in a shop in Paris, the knowledge that she was pregnant fresh in her mind, paying for exactly these two little pieces of clothing. They were the ultimate proof that things _really_ hadn't gone as planned, not that anything involving William had been planned, but still. Luke had been supposed to know from the beginning. She had been supposed to bring William with her to the diner to visit his daddy and giggle as Luke protested about her insisting to dress their son to match his wardrobe. 

The funny thing was how they both had looked so incredibly tiny when she'd watched the cashier neatly folding them up and slipping them into one of those annoyingly small shopping bags that they insisted on handing out instead of a proper sized bag which you could actually fit stuff in. But now when she had them spread out on her bed, they simply looked bigger than she could remember. She wondered... 

Before she had the chance to finish her thought the phone suddenly rang, making her almost jump through the roof. Leaving the clothes on her bed, she went downstairs to answer. 

- Hello? 

- _Mom?_

- No, it's the Duchess of York, Lorelai quipped. - How may I be of service? 

- _Well, Prince William on the phone would be great_, Rory said at the other end. 

- I'm sorry, Lorelai shrugged. - His highness was put down for his royal nap half an hour ago and is currently unable to come to the phone. 

- _Darn_, Rory replied with mock-disappointment. - _I guess I'll be going then._

- Don't you dare, Lorelai said quickly. 

- _I've missed you, mom_, Rory laughed. 

- Clearly not enough, Lorelai pointed out. - Seeing as you're still anywhere but here, despite distinctively telling me this trip was only going to be a _couple_ of weeks. Couple, usually meaning two. 

- _It was a rough estimation_, Rory insisted. - _But we're heading back soon._

- So, where in the world are you guys? 

- _California_, Rory replied. - _We were in the area and Jess wanted to see his dad._

- How in the area? 

- _Salt Lake City_, Rory admitted after a slight pause. 

- So, just in the neighborhood, then, Lorelai chuckled. - So, what've you done so far? Gone swimming? Met any famous people? 

- _Well, Jess and I went on the Universal Studio Tour yesterday_, Rory informed her mother. - _You know. Just for the hell of it. And we saw Jewel Staite._

- Cool, Lorelai acknowledged. - What was she doing? 

- _Relaxing in her trailer with her sunglasses on. Everyone else started taking pictures. I'm not even sure they knew who she was._

- Silly tourists, Lorelai said, shaking her head. 

- _So what's happening at home? Anything new with William?_

- He's sitting up by himself now, Lorelai told her. - And we've found out that he really likes chocolate. 

She thought about mentioning William's first word, but didn't really want to delve into the whole Luke ordeal while her daughter was on the other side of the country, so she avoided it the best she could, hoping Rory wouldn't ask about Luke in a way where she'd have to spill the beans. 

- _Luke will probably be really thrilled about that one_, Rory chuckled. 

- I seriously doubt Luke thought any child of mine would grow up without learning the many joys of chocolate, Lorelai said, rolling her eyes at the absurdity of the thought. 

- _Good point_, Rory agreed. - _I don't think Wonka night would be the same with carrot sticks._

- Blasphemy, Lorelai exclaimed in horror. 

- _So, how is Luke?_

Lorelai sighed inwardly. She _had_ to ask, didn't she? 

- H-he's good, she said, slightly unconvincingly. - Why? 

- _Well, Jess was asking about him the other day after I'd talked to you and I realized that you haven't mentioned him for the past couple of weeks_, Rory explained. 

- I haven't? 

- _Not even once. So, what's going on?_

- Nothing's going on, Lorelai insisted. - We're fine. 

- _You do realize that you saying this is as good as admitting you're not_, Rory pointed out. 

Something about Rory's tone of voice told her that her daughter's brows were raised. Lorelai wasn't sure why she found that important, but she just envisioned Rory raising her brows as she said it. 

- We're fine, Lorelai repeated. - We're just going through a weird phase right now, but it'll pass. 

- _Weird, how_, Rory wanted to know. 

- There's just been a lot of things going on, Lorelai explained. - I told him about William and before we really had time to deal with it, Liz and TJ got into a car accident and he had to take off to Maine to help them out. 

Okay, so that was decorating the truth to say the least, but it wasn't like she was flat out lying. The Luke situation had been at a pause for the past three weeks. It wasn't like he'd just taken off for no good reason. Even if she hadn't told Luke that night, or if he'd known all along or by chance there had been no William, that wouldn't've prevented Liz and TJ from getting into a car accident and needing help. Luke would've gone anyway, because that was the kind of guy he was. And if there had been no car accident, Luke would've come over that night to talk, like he promised her he would. There was just no reason to overanalyze the situation with Rory over the phone, when she was still waiting for an update herself. 

- _Are they okay?_

- They're fine, Lorelai assured her. - The each broke and arm and a leg and are probably still hospital bound, but there couldn't have been anything really serious, since Liz called Luke herself. But neither of them can take care of business, so Luke's helping them out until they get back on their feet. 

- _And you and Luke_, Rory enquired. 

- We're gonna sort everything out when he gets back, Lorelai told her daughter, surprising even herself at how convincing she sounded. - He gave me his number before he left, so I know how to get in touch with him if there's anything. 

With that Rory finally seemed to be willing to let the subject go. 

- _So, what've you been doing today?_

- Well, Lorelai said. - Not work, at least, since Sookie pretty much told me that if I as much as _thought_ about coming in to work today, she would have Michel kick me out. 

- _And Michel would really dare do that_, Rory said in disbelief, as if she meant to add a 'come on' at the end of the sentence. 

- As it turns out, Sookie's stern voice works on pretty much anyone, including Michel, Lorelai shrugged. - I think he's even a little bit afraid of her. 

- _We learn something new every day_, Rory chuckled. - _So how did you spend your day?_

- Being nostalgic, Lorelai laughed. - I finally found that old photo album that we kept looking everywhere for when we first moved to the Crap Shack. Turns out all this time it was lying at the bottom of that old box with your old baby things. 

- _Told you, you should've looked there_, Rory teased. 

- Well, at least I found it now, Lorelai said in self-defense. - I also found the little cap and flannel that I bought William in France. I'd almost forgotten about it. Wanna hear something funny? 

- _What?_

- I think they might actually still fit him. 

- _Are you sure_, Rory asked. - _Cause the clothes I remember were pretty tiny._

- So do I, Lorelai insisted. - But I guess since I haven't really looked at them in a year that I remember them being smaller than what they really were. I mean, unless they miraculously started growing all of a sudden, I must've bought the wrong size. 

- _How on earth did you manage that?_

- Well, for starters, as bad as I am at French, I'm even worse at interpreting their clothes sizes, Lorelai pointed out. - And secondly baby clothes always look smaller than what they really are. The first couple of times I bought you clothes on my own, they looked like they could fall off you at any given moment. That's also the background for the whole Droopy Drawers incident at the mall. 

There was suddenly a very loud beep at the other end. 

- _Ow_, Lorelai exclaimed, switching the phone to the other side, and used her now free hand to rub her ear. - What was that? 

- _Sorry_, Rory apologized. - _My battery just dropped to low. And when it does it makes this inhumane sound._

- Really, _really_ inhumane, Lorelai agreed. 

- _I have to go before it beeps like that again_, Rory said, apologetic. - _Talk to you tomorrow, or something._

- Tomorrow, Lorelai agreed. 

And with that, Rory hung up, or she was cut off, it didn't really matter. 

Lorelai's right ear was still ringing and she mentally cursed whatever genius had come up with the idea of the low battery signal, as she went back upstairs to check on William. His naps always varied from thirty minutes to three hours. It all depended on his mood. When she leaned over the crib, he was still sound asleep, laying on his side with his thumb loosely in his mouth, his other hand securely wrapped around the head of his blue bunny. Lorelai cast a stolen glance over at the little outfit which was still very muh sprawled out on her bed. She wouldn't be sure until she actually tried it on, but she was pretty sure it would still fit. 

Noticing the old rattle still lying on the floor, Lorelai picked it up and carried it with her to the linen closet, where she had put the box just an hour ago. Lifting the lid, she'd just slipped the toy back into its rightful place, when she thought she heard someone knock. Walking to the stairs making as little noise as possible, she listened carefully. When she'd almost reached the bottom of the stairs, there was a second round of knocks. She maneuvered her way around some toys that she and William had played with earlier that day that she still hadn't had time to put away and made her way to the door. A third round of knocking could be heard before she opened it. Her breath hitched, as she stared in shock at the person at the other side and she could only get one single word out. 

- _Luke_... 

TBC 


	98. More than meets the eye

AN: LOL, first of all, what's up with calling mean when I finally give you what you've been begging me for? Seriously... LOL. As for why I ended it there, I had a perfectly good reason for it. POV needed to be changed and I have a strict policy to stick to one POV per chapter. Plus it felt right for me to divide it up like this. As always, lot's of love to Steph, my wonderful, wonderful beta :) 

**Female-Typhoon** - Always happy to please another Jewel fan. I knew Rory was going to be calling from California and I tried to think out what she might've done and then it hit me that the summer of 2004 Jewel was there to shoot Serenity and being an addict to her blogs, I remembered what she had said about the tourist trams, so well... I went with it. (PS, if you're a Firefly fan, I do have Firefly fics, as well) 

**Corinna** - Thank you and yeah, I am proud that I've managed to keep it going for so long and so far. When I started, it seemed impossible and just a silly overestimation, but turns out, I needed all those chapters. 

**LukeNLorelaifanatic** - Well, I don't know if I have to stay at a hotel or not. They haven't really given me much information, but they told me I'd know more on Monday, so crossing fingers. The hotel thing is okay, but it's not home and I like my home and my friends. But it's an experience and I get to travel, so that part is fun, plus the variety of it. 

**sarahb2007** - Babies show an interest in a lot of things and forget most of it as soon as they are finished playing with it, unless it's something special they've had with them for a while, like for example the blue bunny. William won't miss the rattle he's only seen once. 

**smileyGGfan** - What? I thought everyone loved my cliffhangers... lol. I hope you guys understand that I needed to do it this way, otherwize this chapter wouldn't have the same powerful beginning. I originally didn't want Lorelai to mention anything about Luke, but that damn Rory is just so nosy... lol 

**Copop** - LOL, of course the clothes didn't grow, but I've more than once been shopping clothes for my nieces and thought the clothes for their ages just looked too tiny and of course when they were put on the girls, they were bigger than what I had assumed. My 4 year old niece still fits into clothes made for 2 year olds, so although Lorelai have had a kid before, it was so long ago that I felt it was natural that she could make that mistake, especially in Europe. 

**JLarah** - Well, there'll probably be more MR interaction, but they are not the main couple, nor any of the main characters, so there's no reason to have them around all the time. And I get what you're saying about Luke, and the fact that it's hard to explain if the other person isn't already thinking it. And about portraying babies in fics, those are my thoughts exactly. I mean, I love reading baby fics, but most of the time if a story continues beyond the pregnancy part, the baby ends up either of two ways; 1. It disappears into the background, because it prevents the characters from doing this or that. Or 2. Absolutely everything is about the baby and the characters stop having a life. And neither of those are very realistic. So I was very specific about finding the balance.

* * *

For the longest time they were just staring at each other, both of them seemingly nailed to the ground on which they were standing. If just hearing her voice had affected him, there were just no words to describe what actually seeing her again was doing to him. She'd stayed home that day. Luke knew because she was wearing a pair of loose-fitting jogging pants with a little hole on the right knee, a t-shirt with 'if you think _I_ look like hell, you should see the other guy' written across the chest and he could spot some stains on the left sleeve, which could only be leftover baby food, either fruit or vegetable pur? Her hair, which she had obviously flattened for work the day before, had simply been brushed and pulled up in a ponytail. Everything about her was screaming relaxation, except her eyes, which kept staring at him as though she was expecting him to be a hologram. 

Not really registering that he was moving, Luke finally closed the space between them and allowed Lorelai to lean against his chest and shoulder and wrapped his arms around her. His right hand moving up between her shoulder blades, his left resting at the small of her back. To the untrained eye, they looked like any other couple, reuniting after being apart for so long, but although it was a solid hug, it far from compared to the ones they'd shared in the past. Just little things marked the difference; he didn't kiss the top of her head, didn't run his hand through her hair or stroke her back continuously in a circular pattern, like he would've any other time. They both knew that there was still talking to be had, probably some fights, or at least loud arguments and spats to be happening. Strictly speaking, they were at the same place they had been three weeks ago, except they were no longer yelling or refusing to look the other in the eye. They had both had time to calm down and gather their thoughts, but time really didn't heal. It postponed. It numbed. Sometimes it just made things worse. 

It had taken two days to find at least a temporary solution to Liz and TJ's problem. With neither of them being fit to run the booth themselves, he couldn't just pack up and leave, but there was no way he could wait until they were both out of bed, either. Finally he'd bribed Liesl, one of the Shakespeare performers, who he'd remembered Liz mentioning one or two times, and one of her friends to co-run the booth part-time when they weren't due on stage. Although he'd paid them generously for it, he wasn't sure how long this arrangement would last, but hoped that by that time Liz or TJ, or both would be back on their feet to at least oversee business. If not, well, he'd deal with it then. 

When they separated, he wasn't all that clear if he had stepped away first or if she had. Not that it mattered. She looked like she was about to say something, but he shook his head. Not now. 

- William, he muttered and Lorelai understood right away. 

- He's asleep, she muttered, already backing towards the livingroom, pointing upwards to indicate where, as if he didn't already know. 

Luke nodded and Lorelai turned and went upstairs. The exchange had been their shortest ever, but so many things had been said between the lines. Talking had been postponed for the time being. Right now Luke needed to see his son. He'd seen the boy probably a million times. He'd given him bottles, put him down for naps, held him, comforted him, taken care of him. But every one of those times he had been Lorelai's kid, this little person that had crawled under his skin without Luke really knowing why. When Lorelai came back down those stairs, he would be looking at his son for the first time. The bitterness, the guilt, the 'what if's and 'why's, all of it got pushed to the back of his mind. All it would really do is taint a moment he'd rather be cherishing. 

Knowing Lorelai would take her time, Luke took the opportunity to just look around the room. Toys, baby books and other items that weren't toys, but that William had probably been playing with anyway, were scattered all over the floor, a couple of things were lying between the couch cushions. Magazines and some unopened mail laid spread out all over the living room table, together with the remote controls to the TV and DVD player. Lorelai's reading glasses were lying on top of a book which Luke recognized to be William's baby book. A pen lied next to it, the cap missing. Lorelai had obviously written in it just recently. Luke cracked the cover open. Before, he wouldn't have, but now that William was his son, the book was in a way partly his. At least the content was. And he had seen it before a couple of times. 

The first page was more filled out than he could remember. The space behind _'Dad's name'_, which had been blank before, now had _Luke Danes_ written in Lorelai's loopy handwriting. He swallowed hard as a shivering, proud sort of sensation ran down his spine. The name _Danes_ had been added behind William's name on the line at the top. The rest of the page was seemingly untouched. After all, it had been six months since his birth. He turned to the next page and saw that a couple of measurement entries had been made, documenting William's growth over the months. The next had a list of various _firsts_ and some of them had been filled out, including _'first word'_, which obviously had been filled out recently. Maybe that was the reason why the book had been lying on the table. Lorelai usually kept it out of the way of her daily routine. 

He turned one more page to see if she had written anything else. A paper slipped out from between a couple of pages further back and fell to the floor. It was folded in two and Luke bent down, picking it up, intending to slip it right back in between whatever pages it had fallen out of, but something caught his eye and he opened it halfway, not really sure why. The only time before he had snooped, had been when he'd suspected Jess to be up to something. When he realized what it was he was holding, his heart stopped. 

He was holding in his hand a completely filled out and signed form, whose purpose was changing William's last name from Gilmore to Danes. He read it over two, three times, taking it all in. Of course, he'd known deep down that with Lorelai telling him that he was William's father meant that he was going to be a permanent fixture in William's life, regardless his relationship status with his mother. Whether it meant a life with them as mother, father and child under one and the same roof or two people contributing without being involved and maybe both have families of their own. Not that he wanted to even think about that second option, but he'd known that the minute he'd become William's father, he'd been tied to this little guy for life and longer. But the name changing form had taken him by surprise. Just the fact that Lorelai wanted to give their son _his_ last name spoke volumes. This was, after all, the woman who'd named her own daughter after herself. Luke was sure that Lorelai had never even considered giving Rory her father's last name. So he found himself staring at the piece of paper in disbelief and pride. Lorelai hadn't even known he was coming back that day... 

- It's up to you when we mail it. 

Luke jumped, as he hadn't even heard her come down. Looking up, he was met with another surprise. His son, clearly newly awakened from his nap, had his eyes partially closed still, his head rested against Lorelai's chest. One hand was rubbing his eyes, the other was pulling at a foreign object, which had been placed on his head; a blue cap, similar to his. The baby was also dressed in blue-grey-ish pants, which resembled jeans, only looked more comfortable, but it was the shirt which was the important part, blue flannel, close to identical to one of his favorite ones. He was tempted to believe she had come in possession of both and shrunk them in the wash or something. Lorelai wasn't really one for household skills, which was ironic, when thinking about her background as a maid. Or, well, she could probably do it, if she applied herself, he thought, then quickly added; as long as it didn't involve the word 'cooking'. 

He knew, however, the minute Lorelai handed the boy over to him; Luke could feel that they were different, softer, than his own clothes. William didn't seem to notice the difference, just grabbed onto the rougher material and held on tightly. He didn't say anything, no words, no gibberish, not that Luke had expected him to call him 'baba' right away, or anything. He wasn't crying, either, which was a relief. Luke really hadn't known what to expect, when he had pulled up in the driveway. He placed a soft kiss onto the boy's head, well cap, since William still hadn't managed to pull it off, since Lorelai had put it on backwards. 

- When did you get them, he asked, referring to the clothes. 

Lorelai seemed to have been prepared for the question as she provided the answer quickly. 

- Paris, she said, then added. - When I found out I was pregnant. 

Luke really hadn't expected the answer and found himself checking the tag at the back of the neck to confirm it. Not that he believed Lorelai would lie, but he just needed an additional confirmation as well. True enough, everything on the tag was written in French. He didn't understand much, having had Spanish as his second language, not French, but it was enough for him to easily recognize the language. As he was being given these little bits of information, he was realizing more and more that Liz had been right when she'd said that he needed Lorelai's side to fully grasp _why_ she'd done as she had, that there was probably more to it than meets the eye. 

William remained in Luke's arms the rest of the afternoon and evening. It was like the boy feared that if he let go, Luke would vanish again. More than once the uneasy feeling from thinking about how this whole thing had ended up affecting William appeared, but alongside the guilt, hurt, not to mention his still existent anger with Lorelai for doing what she'd done, it was pushed to the back of his mind. They could deal with it on any of the following days; today he just wanted to start repairing things with William. _They_ would just have to wait. Tomorrow perhaps. Maybe later. Sometime, not now. Now was all about William. He had a lot to make up for. 

TBC 


	99. Playing favorites

AN: Okay, so a last minute head's up, mostly cause I only got the news a couple of days ago myself. I'm going to Riga (Latvia) tomorrow and isn't coming back until Friday night, so I will not be updating again until sometime after that. I dunno if I'll get the time to write while I'm there, either, since there's gonna be work things and then some social things, but I'm gonna try. Know that I worked my butt off so I could give you this update before I went. And another little tidbit; I've made an updated picture of William with the flannel and baseball cap, which can be found in my profile. It's the "6 months" link at the bottom. Let me know what you guys think of my work :) As always, Steph, my beta, you rock! 

**smileyGGfan** - Yeah, I found out there were server problems. Man, don't you just hate that? And yes, I felt it was really important that William was Luke's first priority. Kids come first, something a certain other fella never realized. And William should have Luke's last name, but it was natural with all the secrecy that his birth certificate said Gilmore and not Danes, so I had to do it this way. 

**CathyCoffee** - No, LL is the main thing in this story and although there will always be bumps in the road, I wouldn't do something like that. 

**Copop** - Yes, it would be wrong to focus on LL first in this situation. William is more urgent and he was what got caught in the middle in this three week time period. 

**Corinna** - Very true, it would feel completely wrong if he came back and that was what made it fine. Gotta love our beloved complex couple. The characters are so very much running the story now, it's no longer about what I want, but what comes as a natural development. I barely get to "play" anymore, they are too much alive in my head. 

**Gymtig** - Check my profile, there's a link to a manipulation I made where I put flannel and a baseball cap on William. Hopefully it will fit your image of him :) And if we want to be technical and count the "Dirty Comfort" chapter I wrote, then this is technically chapter 100... lol 

**sarahb2007** - The answer to your question is "maybe". It depends on how long this story lives on. If it lives on long enough, then the answer is "yes".

* * *

When she woke up that morning, stretching her arms up above her head, curling her back, almost cat-like, she was convinced she'd just woken up from a really good dream; that Luke had come back and spent the night in her bed, innocently as could be, but still _in her bed_. And at the first glimpse it also appeared like it had simply been a dream, except there were little things, little clues telling her that she hadn't just imagined it. The bed felt warm, like it had occupied one more body than usual, and recently at that, the crater in the pillow next to her was another indication of that. The blue cap that had been lying on her nightstand for the past 3 weeks and therefore been one of the first things she saw every morning, was gone and she was positive that if she sat up, she would see that William wasn't in his crib, either. 

Lorelai had understood that Luke didn't want to have _the talk_ in front of William, so it had surprised her that when he went upstairs to put William down in his crib, after the baby had fallen asleep in his arms, that he hadn't come back down by the time she finished clearing away the mess of toys and books that they had played with that day. He'd been sitting on the edge of her bed, staring hypnotized at his son's chest rising and falling with every breath. When she'd thought about it, it made sense seeing as she'd done that herself more than a few times, especially in those first couple of weeks, when she'd just stared at that little creature, in awe that she was his mother. She'd realized while remembering that, that for Luke it probably felt like those first weeks all over again. And a bitter regret had manifested itself in her throat, like a painful lump that was hard to swallow and she'd silently taken a seat next to him on her bed, folding her hands in her lap, not knowing what else to do with them. 

- _I'm sorry_, she'd told him in a sigh. 

There had been a moments silence following her words. It wasn't the first time she'd said it, but the last time it had been filled with a sense of desperation, a plead for him to forgive her and as heartfelt as she'd meant every word, she'd realized in the aftermath that the context had made it sound forced. There'd been no way a person could lay it all out like that without expressing either a reasoning or regret. But now, she'd said it because _she_ needed to and not because the situation demanded it or he needed to hear it. She could've very well just sat there with him in complete silence and not been worse off. 

- _I'm sorry, too_, he'd replied less than a minute later, quietly, almost hoarsely. 

With that, some of the tension had broke and Lorelai's right hand had found his left, intertwining her fingers with his, squeezing it gently in a way to show him that she understood. He had been unable to leave William out of his sight, having been gone for so long, so as exhaustion had started to pull at him, he'd, with her permission, simply slid further back with her on the bed and found a more relaxing sitting, halfway lying position. 

Lorelai was positive she'd been the one to fall asleep first. In the end, she'd been lying, his arm securely around her, her head resting on his chest, drifting in and out of sleep. She couldn't even remember making it under the covers, so she assumed that Luke had tucked her in when he'd given in and gone to bed himself. 

Yawning, as she sat herself up to a sitting position, she began noticing more things that weren't like they usually were. Her mouth felt fuzzy, as she hadn't brushed her teeth or done any of her usual evening rituals before going to bed. She was also dead sure that her bra, which she usually didn't sleep in, had to have shifted its position somewhere during the night, as the edge was now digging into her right boob in a way that a bra wasn't supposed to be. Pulling it back into position, she was pretty sure there was at least a small bruise there now, as the muscle felt tender almost sore. And for a minute she wondered if the bra had actually been a male invention. 

It was about then that the sense of something not being 'quite right' came over her. Although she wouldn't consider herself completely awake, yet, she felt a little bit too rested. The room, despite the heavy curtains covering the window, was too bright. She only needed to turn her gaze to the Hello Kitty alarm clock on her left to confirm her fears; 10 am. 

- _Shit_, she hissed and stumbled out of bed, her foot getting caught up in the sheets, sending her knee first into the floor. 

Rolling over to her back, she gave herself twenty seconds to rub her bruised knee, before pushing herself up to a sitting, then to a standing position. She skipped the bathroom and went straight downstairs. She cursed herself for forgetting where it was she'd put the phone the day before, as she needed to call Sookie and let her know she would be coming in late. If this had been the Independence, her coming in late once in a while or taking the day off would be no problem, because there she'd been surrounded by people she could delegate her work to or call to fill in for her. But this was the Dragonfly, a new business and they didn't have the economy of hiring anymore people than they already had, so her, Sookie and Michel were already taking on more than they were supposed to just to keep things running. 

Between the longer lunch with Rachel and Max, taking Sunday off and Luke returning, Lorelai just knew she had a long day ahead of her, just to get on top of things. That was before she remembered that she'd been supposed to meet the plumber in half an hour, who was coming in to fix the clogged toilet in room five, which she was pretty sure the mischievous five year old twins whose family she'd moved to room eight for the time being had had something to do with. The looks on their faces coming down with their parents to the reception area to report the problem on Friday had been suspicious to say the least. 

She didn't even notice Luke or William at first when she came downstairs, despite the two of them sitting in the middle of the livingroom floor, playing with William's plastic truck that Lorelai had bought him less than a week ago. Or more accurately, William playing and Luke watching him play. The baby hadn't completely grasped the concept of wheels and would from time to time put the truck down up-side-down after studying it carefully and try pushing it back and forth with some added difficulty. Every now and then he would hand the toy over to her, only to want it back less than five seconds later. Every now and then, when he got it right and the truck moved back and forth with ease, he would squeal. 

It was one of those squeals that made her pause her frantic search for the phone and look over to the pair over by the couch. William was engrossed in his playing, but it was clear that he was still very much attached to Luke. He sat between Luke's legs, his back touching Luke's thigh. Every now and then he would look up at his father to make sure he was still there, but mostly his eyes were on his toy. Luke looked up, probably only now realizing she was even in the room. He smiled, but his eyes narrowed a bit. 

- What are you looking for, he asked. 

- I forgot to set the alarm, she said, semi-distracted, searching the room with her eyes. - So I'm late and the plumber is waiting... and why is the phone on the floor? 

Luke chuckled as he caught on. 

- You looked like you could use the sleep, so I called Sookie and let her know you'd be in late, he told her. - She told me to tell you not to worry about the plumber, that Michel would handle it. 

Lorelai sighed, not really sure herself if it was a relieved one over the problem being solved, or if it was more a frustrated one over the many, many things she had yet to do and her having no idea how she'd be able to get them done before new things popped up. If there was one thing she didn't have time for, it was to stand there and try figure out which it was. She walked over to the two, bent down and placed a soft kiss on the top of William's head. 

- Morning, baby, she told her son, who glanced up for a couple of seconds before continuing to play. 

She turned her attention to Luke. 

- Are you good here, she asked him. - 'Cause I could take him to work with me, but I have a feeling he'd rather spend the day with you. 

- Baaah, William exclaimed, pulling at Luke's flannel shirt to get his attention. 

Luke turned to his son and lifted him up in his arms. 

- Exhibit A, Lorelai laughed, gesturing to William, who was at that moment trying to pull off Luke's cap. 

Hearing no indication that he minded, not that she thought he would, she took Luke's silence and his focus on William as a sign that he wanted to take William for the day and just gave her son another kiss before heading up the stairs to brush her teeth, shower and change. She had contemplated giving Luke one as well, but she wasn't completely sure everything was alright between them, apologies aside. She didn't want to take it as a given that everything was forgiven and forgotten. Already being late, she finished her shower in record time and spent only half her usual time to pick out a work outfit. 

When she returned downstairs, Luke was in the kitchen heating up a jar of mashed vegetables for William, who was sitting in his high chair, banging his spoon on the table. Lorelai noticed that there was a mug of hot steamy coffee waiting for her on the counter. He knew her so well. Drinking half the mug in a couple of large gulps, she lowered it and looked hesitantly at Luke, who was at the moment facing away from her. 

- I might be late, she told him. - You still have the crib, right? 

- It's there, he nodded. 

- Do you want me to come by after work? 

- Swing by, he nodded. - I'll make you dinner and we can, you know, talk. 

- Talk, she agreed, trying to ignore the nervous knot in her stomach. - Good. Yeah, we'll talk. 

As she awkwardly backed out of her own kitchen, once again kissing William goodbye, Lorelai sighed and wondered if they would ever get back to normal and no longer feel like they had to thread lightly around each other. She wasn't particularly looking forward to 'the talk', but decided that things couldn't get more awkward than they were right now. Luke hadn't even complained about her coffee or commented on the fact that she left the house without eating breakfast. Of course, it could be he assumed she would be eating at the inn instead, which was what she intended to do, but she right now she felt like she couldn't be sure. 

When she arrived at the inn, she could barely get through the door, before she was attacked by a squealing Sookie. Before she could even say anything, Sookie had kicked every single person on her kitchen staff out of the room, pointing for Lorelai to take a seat at the island, while she continued cutting vegetables for what looked to be last minute lunch additions or possibly preparation for dinner. 

- He's back, Sookie squealed. - You have no idea how worried I was, I mean, one minute you're fine and happy, and eye flirting all over the place, and so obviously together that I was surprised the news wasn't already all over town. Then the next he's gone and you're moping around... 

- I wasn't moping, Lorelai objected. 

- _Moping_, Sookie repeated, insistently. - I've gotta give you props on hiding it, though, cause you fooled Miss Patty and Babette and those two aren't that easily fooled. But you were acting like Luke leaving wasn't affecting you. If Jackson had up and left town all of a sudden to look after his sister, I'd be going crazy here, at the very least I'd talk about it, but you didn't talk, so I started to think that maybe you guys had a fight or worse; broken up. So I'm just so extremely happy that he's back, at your house. 

Sookie was already panting, and was forced to pause and take a deep breath before continuing. 

- Oh my God, she exclaimed, Lorelai automatically jumping backwards out of her chair to get out of swinging length of the very sharp knife Sookie was currently handling. - He was at your _house_! 

- Okay, she said, holding up her hands in defense. - Sweetie, please put the weapon down before one of us loses an arm, a leg or an eye. I dunno about you, but I've gotten very attached to my limbs and as so, I would like to keep them. 

- Oh, sorry, Sookie said, smiling sheepishly, putting the knife down on the cutting board, taking one step back. - I'm just so excited. 

- I can see that, Lorelai confirmed, still keeping her distance. 

- Hey, Sookie said, slowly sobering from her excitement. - Where's William? 

- _Now_ you notice, Lorelai teased. 

- Well, Sookie shrugged. - He's tiny and he's quiet a lot of the time. How come your kids are so quiet? Davey's a nightmare now-a-days. His first tooth's starting to come in and he just _can't_ stop crying. And he _hates_ the teething ring I got him. He keeps throwing it away, whenever I try giving it to him. 

- Have you tried putting something sweet on it, Lorelai suggested. - Maybe he just hates the taste. 

The door to the kitchen opened and Michel came in, carrying a red plastic bucket. 

- I am sorry to be breaking up this little tea party the two of you are having, he said in his usual dry tone. - But I thought you'd want to know the toilet in room five has been fixed and the source of the clog discovered. I would confront the Hendersons about it, but I don't want to. 

He handed the bucket over to Lorelai and left as quickly as he'd arrived. Lorelai peaked into it, her brows raised in amusement. 

- I'm sorry, she told Sookie. - I have to deal with this right away. 

- What, Sookie asked. - What is it? 

- Something that should never be flushed down a toilet, Lorelai replied, already making her way to the door. 

- Like what? 

TBC 


	100. Look at all the nosy people

AN: Okay, seriously, I have to say I was very amused when I saw exactly how many of you got caught up with wanting to know what the twins flushed down the toilet. lol. And don't worry, you will know ;) So, yes, I know. 2 frickin' weeks. I spent the week in Riga wishing I had time and energy to write, then I came home and it wouldn't come to me, plus I got kinda busy during the following week with dress hunting. I finally found a proper dress in my size that fit me like a glove (that doesn't happen very often cause regular shops don't carry dresses larger than L, XL at the most, so XXL was kinda hard to find). And then I had to go to Oslo again for a meeting and a party. But now I'm here and I got the chapter done! Yay! Three times cheers for Steph, my trusty beta, who was exceptionally quick with the beta this time :) 

**hbcollegegirl** - Wow, big compliment. I'm honored. 

**Corinna** - Bluses, thank you. 

**JLarah** - Indeed, Luke's view on the matter has changed since Maine. He's gotten more insight on the matter. Of course they still have some work left until they are completely okay, they are really on their way. 

**Tali** - I am planning on getting there, too, but there are several things, not everything directly about LL that I might have to deal with first. The characters are taking control, damnit. lol 

**smileyGGfan** - Thank you. I am very proud of that picture. Well, the thing about the bra, it was just something that slipped my mind one morning when the damn thing had twisted in a weird position. But the whole "it must have been a man" - thing, it's very typical thing my mom says whenever something is done in a very impractical way. She said it a lot when we were cleaning my last place when I was moving. 

**Copop** - Live reviews makes me laugh, especially when I get an "eek" :P I just gotta ask, how can a pack of condoms or an OB clog a toilet? I'm trying to picture it, but I can't seem to understand how that would physically possible, however if it had been several OB's tied together, then I'd get it...

* * *

Lorelai had expected things to be slow at the diner, given the fact that she'd left the inn late, but she hadn't anticipated it being completely abandoned. No customers or workers to be seen. The only living, breathing soul was Luke, who was currently standing behind the counter, looking through a stack of papers; probably order forms or daily reports and whatnots. Luke didn't seem to have heard the bell when she'd entered, which made her wonder how long he'd been at this task. She retrieved her cell phone from her purse and from one quick glance it finally dawned on her how late it actually was. Normally Luke would've already locked up and gone upstairs, but from the look of it; Lorelai wasn't the only one whose work had piled up. 

She plopped onto one of the many empty stools, deliberately dropping her purse onto the counter to see if she could invoke a reaction from him. He finally looked up, the corners of his mouth curling up into a hint of a smile. 

- Hey, he acknowledged her. 

- Sorry I'm late, she replied, realizing he'd probably been waiting for her. 

Luke simply shrugged it off. 

- Gave me time to go through some paperwork, he replied. - I'm almost done. You want coffee? 

- No, I thought I'd sit here and count how many seconds it'd take before my head smashed into the counter, she shrugged, raising her brows as if to say; _'do you have to ask?'_. 

Luke shook his head, muttering something indistinct, Lorelai only catching the word 'impossible' from it. He turned around and put on a fresh batch of coffee. 

- So, how was your day, Lorelai asked as he poured her a cup. - Did you have fun? 

- It was good, Luke nodded with this proud, goofy happy smile creeping upon his face. 

- What'd you do, she asked him, curiously. 

- Mostly I just watched him play. He handed me his favorite toys, only to want them back right away, Luke shrugged, then observantly added. - He's very interactive. 

- That he is, Lorelai nodded. - But only with people he's comfortable around. He's become very wary of people now. 

Luke's expression as she said it made Lorelai wonder if maybe she'd said something wrong. 

- I'm sorry, he half-croaked, not meeting her gaze. 

Suddenly it dawned on her what he must be thinking. 

- No, she said, shaking her head. - No, no. It has nothing to do with that. It's just a phase. Rory was the same. Trust me, it's completely normal. 

Luke didn't seem convinced. 

- Pick up a baby book tomorrow, she told him. - I'll bet you a hundred bucks it's in there somewhere. There hasn't been a kid I know that hasn't gone through that phase at some point. I bet Jess or, if you remember as far back, Liz was shy around strangers at some point. If it'd had anything to do with you, then William wouldn't've grabbed onto you and refused to let you go, like he had. 

Finally it seemed like she'd gotten through to him, as he sighed and nodded, though he was still being pensive and serious. 

- Did you guys go outside, she asked, desperately wanting to see him smile again. - Do something special? 

He shook his head. 

- The damn town's too nosy, he replied. - Babette nearly cornered me when I left your house this morning and whenever I came down into the diner, she or Miss Patty would be following my every move, asking me all sorts of questions... 

- Why did you come down into the diner? I thought you weren't working today. 

- Apparently Ceasar had forgotten that he's pretty much been running the place these past three weeks, Luke said in an annoyed tone. - He kept coming up, asking me the most rudimental questions, running everything by me before doing anything. 

- Aww, Lorelai cooed. - Looks like William and I weren't the only ones missing you. 

- In the end the crowd got so bad that I had to come downstairs to get things under control, Luke gruffed. - Damn nosy town. Every one of them wanted to know what was going on. 

- You know, Lorelai shrugged. - We could just send in those forms and get it over with. Make it official. 

They both knew that once the paper work on changing William last name went through, it would take mere hours, possibly minutes before the whole town knew. It would start with Taylor, who'd find out through his post as town selectman that one of his citizens had changed name. Confidential or not, Taylor would then tell Miss Patty and once Miss Patty knew, one would really be talking just minutes before the whole town would be informed. It was a very efficient way to make an announcement. 

- Damn nosy town, Luke muttered, making Lorelai chuckle. - I just wanted a couple of days with him before the town started butting in. 

- Well, you would've stood a better chance if you hadn't parked your truck in my driveway last night, Lorelai pointed out. - We might as well have been having sex on my porch. 

- Geez, Luke muttered, shaking his head. 

- I don't think they suspect about William, Lorelai assured him. - I think they are focusing on you and me so much that they're assuming your bond with William has something to do with what's going on between the two of us, or what they rightfully _think_ is going on between us. If you don't want them to know about you and William yet, they aren't going to figure it out anytime soon, but don't expect them to be leaving us alone. 

Luke shook his head in mild annoyance, then changed the subject. 

- So, how'd your day go, he asked, jotting something down on one of the papers, moving it to the bigger pile. 

- Eventful, Lorelai summed it up. - The toilet in one of the rooms was clogged. 

- Hence the need for a plumber, Luke nodded. 

Lorelai was about to ask him how he knew there'd been a plumber, then remembered that Sookie had asked him to tell her she shouldn't worry about the plumber. 

- Exactly, she nodded. - I tried getting one to come in on Friday, but today was the first day they could come, so I had to move the whole family to another room in the meantime. And you're probably wondering why I'm telling you this story, since a clogged toilet really isn't that new or exciting. 

- Depends on what clogged it, Luke shrugged, only sounding mildly interested, if at all. 

He placed one more paper over to the large pile, then merely glanced at the next before moving that as well. 

- A teddybear, Lorelai answered. 

Luke looked up, his brows raised. 

- How, he simply asked. 

- Long story short; the five year old twins in the family decided to play water park with their stuffed animals, Lorelai told him. - The bathtub was the main pool, the sink was the kiddie pool and the toilet was the water slide. 

Luke looked like he was gonna say something, then simply nodded slowly, as if he was just taking it all in. 

- You're thinking about what kind of mischief we can expect from William when he gets older, aren't you, she asked, grinning. 

- That hadn't even crossed my mind, he replied, pausing mid-signing the last paper. - But now that you mention it... 

Lorelai laughed. Compared to how the morning had gone, there was a feeling of relaxation and normalcy over talking to Luke now. Maybe it was the familiar setting, the two of them on opposite sides of the counter, Luke working and Lorelai just babbling nonsense. Of course she was still a bit on edge, wondering when it was their light conversation would turn into 'the talk'. She suspected the mood would change when they went upstairs. 

It didn't right away. Luke walked over to the fridge, retrieving various items and Lorelai walked over to the crib. William was out cold, laying sprawled out on the bed with his limbs in all directions. The blanket, which she assumed had covered him at some point, laid crumpled in the foot of the bed. She bent down and covered his tiny body with it, knowing it wouldn't wake him. She ran a finger over his soft cheek and whispered goodnight to him. The baby made a sleepy sigh and turned his head to the right. He didn't wake. She then traced the initials; _LJD_. 

- Luke, she called out. - What does the 'J' stand for? 

- What, he asked, confused. 

- The 'J' on your old baby blanket, Lorelai elaborated. - What does it stand for? 

- James, Luke replied. 

- Your middle name is James, Lorelai asked, raising her brows. 

_Lucas James Danes_. It sounded a bit weird, when used as a combination. 

- It's my mom's maiden name, Luke shrugged. - She didn't want to give it up, so although she didn't use it anywhere else than on official documents, she kept it as a middle name and insisted that both Liz and I got both her and dad's last names. Though, Liz dropped them both when she got married and changed her last name to Mariano. 

- Your mom sounds like a really special woman, Lorelai told him. 

- You would've liked her, he nodded, then added. - And she you. 

Lorelai blushed and struggled to find a reply. 

As Luke continued preparing what Lorelai was tempted to call 'dupper', dinner mixed with supper, she gazed around his apartment. William's toys were still decorating his floor, so while waiting for 'dupper' she busied herself with picking them all up, finding an empty bucket to dump them all into. It could look careless from a stranger's point of view, but as one of William's many favorite games was strewing all his toys out on the floor and picking them back up, she was really just setting things up for him to play when he got up. He still struggled with objects that laid beyond rolling distance, but she had seen him attempt at pushing himself forward on his stomach to reach for certain objects in front of him, so it would only be a matter of time before he started crawling. Lorelai sighed as she realized he was getting so big. 

'Dupper' was simple, but great. Luke had made spaghetti with his own special sauce that no matter how much she begged, he refused to let her know what was in it. Aside from the light banter, it had been a quiet meal so far. Lorelai began wondering if he'd changed his mind when Luke finally spoke. 

- William should have his own room. 

Lorelai raised her brows in surprise. This wasn't what she had expected him to want to talk to her about, but when she thought about it, she guessed it made sense. It was a practical matter. One of many things that needed to be addressed. Normally kids began sleeping in their own rooms when they reached William's age. Well, Rory hadn't, but then again, nothing had been that normal in Rory's childhood. They had been living in a potting shed, where they hadn't even had a separate bathroom, just a shower curtain. Of course Rory hadn't slept in her own room until the summer before she turned eleven and they moved into the Crap Shack. It had also worked because Lorelai had been single at the time. It had just been her and Rory. 

The big question was; where? The house only had the two bedrooms, which had initially made it a perfect buy when they bought it. The thought on what she'd do if she ended up having more kids hadn't even crossed her mind. It had been her and Rory for so long, and she'd been relatively single for the past ten-eleven years. More kids had been such a distant possibility. But here she was, nine years later. Of course, Rory had moved out now, so her room was vacant for most of the year, but she didn't like the idea of converting her firstborn's room into the new nursery. It felt too much like kicking Rory out and she wanted her baby girl to be able to come home whenever she needed to. Moving out wasn't permanent until Rory was standing with the keys to her very own apartment, Lorelai decided. So Rory's room was off limits. So where? 

- I was thinking we could have a talk with a contractor, Luke continued, as though he had heard her thoughts. - Get an estimate on having an extension on your house. 

It was a good idea, only with one major exception. 

- I can't afford it, Lorelai sighed. - All my money went into the inn, as well as some of yours. 

- I have more, he simply replied. 

- Luke, Lorelai said, softly, realizing where this was heading. - I can't let you... 

- I want to, he insisted, cutting her off. - I want to make up for, you know, not being there. 

- You _were_ there, Lorelai argued. - You watched him, fed him, took care of him. You were there. 

- Not financially, he countered. - I haven't done my part there. 

- But that's my fault, Lorelai pointed out. 

Luke was too selfless for his own good. It wasn't that she wanted him to be angry at her, but she needed there to be balance between them. He didn't owe her anymore than she owed him. They both had made mistakes and she needed to remind him that he wasn't the bad guy that he seemed to think he was. 

- Damnit Lorelai, he said, frustrated. - Would you just let me buy my son a damn room? 

His outburst surprised her a bit and she meekly nodded. Luke took a deep breath and nodded. 

- What about here, she then asked. 

- I'm having a wall constructed between the kitchen and Jess' old room, Luke told her, calmly. 

Lorelai was about to nod, when she realized one flaw in the plan. 

- Remodeling is noisy, she said, tilting her head in the direction of the crib, where their son was sleeping soundly. - What about... 

- You can stay here, he told her, cutting her off. 

TBC 


	101. Missed you

AN: Before I say anything, I just want to thank Leslie for the wonderful uplifting pm I found in my inbox this morning. Okay, so you're probably wondering why it took me so long to get this part up, well, I've been sick this past week. Plus I've been preparing for my sister's wedding, which is on Friday, so after updating this I have to stay up late and pack my things. Yes, CF was prioritized over packing, thereby over sleeping as well (and eating, cause my stomach's really rumbling right now. Note to self: get some food). As always, mucho love for my beta, Steph. Thanks, hon! 

**neo-lorelai** - You put me in kinda a tricky position, as I want to reply to your comment, but as you're an anonymous reviewer, I have no way of PM-ing my reply to you. But even though you do not plan to read on, I don't want to leave this unresponded, so in case you do check in just to see if I replied, then it'll be here. I do not take it personally. I want to encourage people like you who aren't afraid to give your honest opinion and I also think you did it in a tasteful way, so kudos to you on that. However I must respectfully disagree with your opinion. Yes, this is an LL story, but Rory is a very important person to Lorelai. Before I created William, Rory was the singlemost important person in Lorelai's life, so I can't write her out of the story. She has to be included. As for whether Lorelai's in character or not, that is completely up to the interpretation of the reader. I think she is, due to the circumstances set in this story, but you are perfectly welcome to think otherwize (though advicing me to put an OOC warning on Lorelai seems a bit drastic to me). I brought Rachel back because I've always liked her as a potential friend for Lorelai and I dunno why, but I've also had this idea of Max and Rachel hooking up, because I think they would be good together. Again, this is my opinion and not everyone might agree with it. I didn't do this sooner, because my following show canon when I have to left very few possibilities to do so, but the seven week period of the show between 5.01 and 5.02 allowed me to have Lorelai accidentally bump into Rachel, because there's no indication in show canon that Rachel couldn't have been there, taking those pictures, only not being discovered by Lorelai. As for this turning into 500 chapters? God, I hope not. I love writing this story, but I want to one day be able to put a "The End" at the bottom. I'm sorry this is not a story you want to read (though I'm surprised you read it all before deciding that), this is however a story I would want to read, otherwize I wouldn't be writing it. 

**smileyGGfan** - Thanks hon! I actually did an estimation that I could end up reaching 100 chapters, but right in the beginning I thought it was impossible, since my largest story until then had been 25 chapters. As for Luke moving in? They are still so very much in the beginning of a relationship. I mean, yeah, they have a kid, but it's early, so I have to take that into account. If I had the permanently move in together already, then all hell might break loose. 

**Caffeination** - Don't worry, William will be more creative ;) 

**Kelly1280** - I so agree with you on the "certain other 'dad'" bit. The teddybear that got flushed was a small one ;) 

**Corinna** - Thank you so much, I'm really glad you think so much of this story. And for your ps, it was a typo. I meant to write "blushes". Sadly I don't have my shoutouts betaed as well... maybe I should in the future... lol 

**Copop** - Ah, a whole box, now we're talking. Like I meantioned above, LL are still in the beginning of their relationship. They need some time before they can take the step and move in together, so expect to see them switch back and forth between her house and his apartment for the coming chapters.

* * *

- You can't possibly call that educational, Luke pointed out for the billionth time that night. 

Lorelai simply laughed as Luke rolled his eyes, and bounced up from her position on the couch to change the disc in the DVD player. He might be pretending he hated the movie, but she knew he was having a good time. It was weird, because in many ways it seemed like their relationship had just picked up from where they had left off weeks ago. They slept in the same bed at night, ate their meals together, shared their responsibilities of William by taking turns bringing him to work with them. Of course, Luke still wanted to make up for lost time, but acknowledged that never separating from William at all would be just as harmful as his absence had been. William needed to learn that it was okay if either mommy or daddy went somewhere without him, because they would always come back. 

It hadn't been the easiest thing, as William had loudly protested the first two times Lorelai had taken him with her, while Luke had simply kissed him goodbye and waved. It really hadn't helped that the first time Luke heard his son call him 'baba' had been accompanied with the visual of Lorelai carrying the screaming infant out of the room. And work on both those days had been frustrating for Lorelai to say the least, but when William had seen that Luke was still there when she'd brought him back both times, he'd calmed down. And today, when it had yet again been Lorelai's turn to take William for the day, the boy had accepted the temporary separation from his father with minimum tears and had even been okay when Lorelai had been forced to leave him with Sookie for about five or ten minutes, while she quickly showed the vet to the stables and listed Cletus' symptoms for the woman. 

And with matters with William settling, Lorelai's thoughts had once again began drifting to wondering what was becoming of the two of them. In the week since Luke's return, they had focused so entirely on William that their own relationship had played second fiddle. They had actually gotten along very well in the past week, not fighting or yelling or anything. Normally that would be a good sign and she wasn't saying that they couldn't get along without arguing, but given the situation, tension would only be natural. And in the void where conflict and tension normally would reside, confusion had started seeping in. Lorelai had found herself more than once believing they were on their way to becoming just friends again, friends who just happened to have a baby together. But then, just as she thought it, he would look at her, like he used to do before the whole mess, and she wouldn't be so sure anymore. 

They just never seemed to find a moment for just the two of them. When they did have a moment to themselves it was always filled with discussions about William or matters that either directly or indirectly related to him. The remodel had come up frequently. They had both been surprised when they'd enquired, that Tom and his crew had been available so soon. They were currently finishing up a project over in Woodbury and could begin the remodel as soon as the week after next if Luke and Lorelai got the plans drawn up by then, which Luke had been positive they could manage. An architect from Hartford had been by the house on Thursday. Luke had taken a couple hours off and had gone through each of the possibilities they had on adding the room and with minimum discussion he and Lorelai had settled on the option of adding one on the second floor, just across the hall from Lorelai's bedroom. Barring any complications, the plans shouldn't take longer than a week, tops. 

With that settled and out of the way, come Saturday morning, Lorelai had floated the idea of having a movie night, just the two of them. The theme only being appropriate in her opinion, Lorelai had announced to Luke when he'd come back from the kitchen, hot plates in his hands, that tonight's movie night was a study of the inner workings of an infants mind to further increase their understanding of William; or the 'Look Who's Talking' trilogy as most people called it. 

- Come on, she laughed, as she put the disc of the first movie back into its cover. - There were tons of things we could learn from that movie. 

- Like what? That we shouldn't let William drive a car, Luke asked, dryly. - I knew that even before I saw the movie. 

- It was supposed to enlighten us on the way babies think and feel, Lorelai pointed out. 

- I don't see how Bruce Willis reading from a script is gonna give me a greater insight in how my son thinks, Luke countered. 

- But can you say with a hundred percent certainty that's _not_ the way he's thinking, Lorelai asked, teasingly, standing up. 

- It's a script, Luke repeated. - Written by adults for adults. There's nothing remotely educational about it. They're as clueless when it comes to what kids think as the rest of us. 

Lorelai grinned as she plopped back on the couch, right next to him. She eyed him in anticipation, hoping one of his trademark Luke-rants was in the works, but a minute passed, then one more, and nothing more came. 

- Didn't Mikey at least remind you a little bit of William, she asked. 

- Which one, Luke asked. 

- Um, you know, Mikey, the kid, she elaborated. 

Luke gave her a look. 

- I know that, he told her. - Which one of them? 

- The one who went joyriding, Lorelai replied. 

Luke furrowed his brows. 

- You think so? 

- It could be the whole baseball cap talking, but I dunno, give it a year and that could be William, Lorelai shrugged, then added. - Minus the joyriding, of course. 

- Of course, Luke nodded and met her gaze. 

It was only then she noticed how much closer they were sitting, compared to when they had been watching the movie. Luke had one of his arms rested on the back of the couch, the other had its elbow propped up on the armrest, his hand currently laying limply on his right thigh. Lorelai was somewhat seated in his embrace, but the important part was that he didn't seem to mind. True, he'd done nothing in the past week to make her think he would mind, but it wasn't like there'd been any indicators that he wouldn't, either. Right at that moment, however, she felt little doubt. They held each other's gaze for what seemed to be hours. Occasionally her eyes would drop down to his lips for a second or two. Every time she looked back up, he seemed to be closer. His hand was moved away from the armrest and he moved it up to brush away a few stray hairs before cupping her cheek. 

Feeling his warm breath brush against her skin before his lips even touched hers was giving her shivers down her spine. They only managed to keep it soft for half a second before his tongue slipped into her welcoming mouth, meeting hers. The arm he'd had on the back of the couch moved, instead, to the small of her back, his other finding a spot somewhere between her shoulderblades. Together, they pressed her body tightly up against his as he moved to pepper her neck with kisses, searching out the familiar spots where he knew her skin was sensitive. 

- Missed you, she sighed, breathily. 

- Hmm, he responded, in between kisses. - Missed... you... 

At some point they had ended up horizontal on the couch, as well as discovered that it creaked when two adult people tried to move around on it. Lorelai'd had no idea the couch could make so much noise. She was laying on top of him, his arms were moving up and down the sides of her upper body, every now and then moving further down to stroke her thighs as well. His baseball cap was lying somewhere on the floor. His flannel shirt had been buttoned down halfway. Lorelai's top had ridden up to right below her breasts, as though it was seconds away from being removed, but other than that, nothing had yet been taken off. Before she had time to follow through on her plan to change that fact, the baby monitor lit up and they both froze as they heard William cry. Lorelai threw her head back and sighed. Naturally he had to wake up now. 

- Probably a nightmare, she guessed, as William had been sleeping through the night for a good while now. 

- I'll go and check, Luke told her. 

- Okay, she responded, as he lifted her off him and got up. 

She was still trying to figure out how to conceal her disappointment over the interruption, when she felt his hands cup her shoulders, bringing her lips up to his one more time before he vanished up the stairs and she began hearing the soothing noises of him comforting their crying son. The kiss had only been brief, but it made parting a little more bearable. Lorelai sighed, in contentment this time, and let herself sink back into the couch. 

TBC 


	102. I'm okay! I'm okay!

AN: Okay, another week plus passed. Whatever happened to the person who could write a new chapter every three days for a long period of time? I wonder that myself, too. I think this working thing has part of the blame, cause college sure didn't have 40 hour weeks. Also, this week my friends have been requesting me a lot, 3 days in a row I could barely get near a computer after work, let alone write. Today I was even invited to a party, but I said no, because I really, really wanted to write (of course I just said I had other plans). So, that might make me a geek, but I think you guys are happy I turned it down. Steph, as always, mucho love, but you get some extra today with the way MSN was treating us. Gah, I've never been so frustrated with MSN before... 

**jennisfifi** - Aww, I love your dedication and don't worry, this story's not stopping anytime soon. Many plans, hon. Many plans. 

**smileyGGfan** - The wedding was great, thank you, the ceremony was beautiful, my nieces were adorable... well, right up until it was bedtime and they were too geared up to wanna go to bed and I had to fish them out of nooks under the stairs and the stroller. But luckily it ended well and I got a couple of new tips on both struggles and solutions with kids. I've never heard of "Baby Einstein" videos. 

**rhapsody-child-of-the-sky** - Aw, I love to get new readers, especially when they also love some of my other ships. Tell your brother many thanks from me, okay? 

**Leah Rau** - What I'm trying to show with this is that before in Maine all Luke had were assumptions, his assumptions and the things Liz said, but when he came back he's learned so many things that he no longer needs to ask the questions he had in Maine. I'm not saying there won't be a discussion somewhere along the line or that it won't be brought up, but things have changed since Maine. 

**Ele** - Aw, I'm so happy to hear from you again. And thanks for the support :) 

**Copop** - Well, technically they were never broken up... 

**Cywen** - I was only five when that movie came out. I don't remember when I saw it first, but I do know that I for a while believed that babies came from kissing, since the couple was kissing in the movie and the next scene we had the fertilization animation. Silly, I know, but hey I was just a kid. 

**LLR5654** - Thanks for the support :) 

**remoob1513** - Well, technically Luke initiated the kiss, so it would be kinda silly if he pushed her away... lol

* * *

As it turned out, Lorelai had been wrong. If William had just had a nightmare, he'd only require a little comfort from either of his parents to settle back down and go back to sleep, but no matter what Luke tried, the crying hadn't ceased and Lorelai had soon enough joined him upstairs, where a confused Luke immediately handed her the baby in hope that she'd manage what he was currently failing to do. Big droplets of tears had been escaping from the corners of his reddening eyes, leaving salty streaks down his cheeks. She'd noticed he felt a bit warmer than usual, but not high enough to constitute a fever and she wondered if he was getting sick. Lorelai didn't have any better luck at calming their son down than Luke had, which wasn't really a good thing, but at least proved to Luke that it wasn't just him, although in the past week he and William had been developing a good rapport. 

William's crying didn't calm down until he had completely exhausted himself. Luke and Lorelai had switched on trying to comfort him, doing the jiggle, the bouncy and every other official baby-motion they knew. Bunny hadn't been much help either, at first it had seemed like they'd had a breakthrough, when William grabbed his favorite toy, putting the soft plush in his mouth, but while his crying had ceased for a couple of minutes, it had soon escalated to something worse, but as his secret storage of energy started to empty, William's crying had in the end been reduced to miserable hick-ups and he finally conked out, completely exhausted against Lorelai's shoulder. By then it was way past midnight and the couple barely even made it to Lorelai's bed before they, too, passed out on it, still fully clothed. 

When William's mood hadn't improved the next day, but instead seemed to grow worse by the minute, constantly grabbing whatever was closest to chew on it, Lorelai put two and two together, realizing her son was finally teething. The revelation had clued Lorelai and Luke in on what they could do to ease his discomfort, but William wasn't as receptive as they'd hoped he would be. His gums were obviously very sore, not enough for Lorelai to suspect an infection, but sorer than she could remember Rory's had been. The cold, wet cloth helped to some effect, as did the chilled teething rings, but William still woke up several times a night and was difficult to settle down. Come Thursday, it had been days since Lorelai had been allowed to sleep through the night, Luke, too, for that matter. And she was now both too tired and cranky to deal with customers or people in general, so she buried herself under the massive amount of paper work in her office that needed to get done. 

She heard the door to her office creak open. It was funny how a new door, installed just two months prior, could creak, but this one did. She really had to get the hinges oiled better. She didn't look up, just groaned inwardly at the interruption, since she thought she'd made it clear to Michel and everyone else that she was not a people person today. 

- Whatever it is, Michel, she said, dismissingly. - It can wait 'til later or you can find someone else to help you, 'cause I'm busy right now. 

- I'm sorry, a voice, _not_ Michel's, said. - I'll go. 

Lorelai's head snapped up and she called out to the person in question; 

- Don't you dare! 

Rory, who had only barely managed to turn towards the door, turned back and faced her mom. Lorelai short of lunged at her and quickly wrapped her arms around her daughter, who immediately returned the hug. The two began swaying from side to side, almost tipping over with the sheer force of it. 

- I missed you, Lorelai told her, refusing to let her out of her arms. 

- I missed you, too, mom, Rory replied. 

- When did you come back, Lorelai asked her, finding the timing of her appearance a bit suspicious. 

It was too early in the day for Rory to have just come home, because it either meant her and Jess had spent the night somewhere not too far from here or they had gotten up at a freakishly early hour to drive the remaining miles home. Neither made much sense. Rory might be freakishly early up on certain days for no apparent reason, but Lorelai knew from many a conversation with Luke that Jess wasn't a early bird unless he had to be and she didn't buy the two of them getting up at the crack of dawn in the middle of their summer vacation. 

- Last night, Rory admitted, earning her a semi-release from Lorelai's hug and a scowl. 

- And you didn't even think to call, Lorelai asked, her voice a mixture of mock-hurt and actual hurt. 

- It was really late, Rory said in her defense. - We were really going to stop somewhere for the night, but since we were just a couple hours away from home, we decided to drive the remaining distance in one go and sleep at home instead. 

- By home, you mean Jess' place, Lorelai asked, raising her brows. 

- It was really, _really_ late, Rory emphasized. - I didn't want to ruin your sleep, since you had work in the morning, plus I was so beat I just wanted to climb straight into bed, which I _knew_ you wouldn't let me do if I came straight home. 

- I would not, Lorelai objected, receiving a look from Rory. - Okay, maybe I would, but would you blame me? You've been gone for almost _five_ weeks. I barely see you anymore; I don't need you taking long vacations and reducing my quality time with you even more. 

- I'm really sorry about that, Rory sighed. - Time just got away from us and before we knew it, it was a month later and we had to hurry back. And since it got so late, it made more sense that I slept before coming home. 

Lorelai made a couple of grumbling noises before she sighed and nodded. 

- Where's Jess, she asked, wanting, despite the boy's recently good behavior, to give him a piece of her mind for keeping her baby girl away from home for so long. 

- At work. 

- Already, Lorelai noted, surprised. 

- He has to make up for prolonging our vacation for as long as he did, Rory shrugged. - So he's looking at working double shifts for the rest of the summer, maybe even longer. 

- Oh, okay, Lorelai sighed. - Cause if he thougt he'd be monopolizing you the rest of the summer... 

- He'd have another think coming, Rory finished, cutting her off. 

- Come here, Lorelai told her daughter, pulling her back into a tight hug. 

Taking a deep breath, Lorelai suddenly frowned and sniffed the air. 

- Did you by any chance go by the kitchen first, she asked. 

- It's where you're most likely to be found, Rory shrugged. 

- Did Sookie see you? 

- Yep, and her apron got caught between the pan and the burner and caught fire, Rory nodded. - That would be the charred smell you're picking up on. 

- Figured as much. 

As Lorelai released her from her grip, Rory looked around the room with a frown. 

- Where's William, she asked, confused. 

- Oh, Luke has him, Lorelai said, matter-of-factly. 

- Right, Rory chuckled, shaking her head at her lack of thinking. - And how are things between you two now? 

- They are good, Lorelai smiled. 

It wasn't a lie or a decoration of the truth. As incredible as it sounded, with both of them being kept awake all night by their screaming infant, making them both constantly tired, not to mention easily irritated at anyone who was the slightest bit of difficult (one of the main reasons Lorelai was currently avoiding Michel as much as she could), it simply didn't seem to be effecting their own interaction. The heated make-out session from a week ago, had not yet had an encore, but that was due to lack of energy, rather than there being any problems or negative feelings between them. Lorelai didn't even have to convince herself of it, she knew it. The many times this past week where the two of them had ended up collapsing onto her bed in a tangle of limbs were proof enough. Not to mention the short, but tender kisses they had shared when waking up in each other's arms in the morning. They still didn't kiss in public, but that had more to do with them not wanting to be under the town's constant scrutiny, than them as a couple. 

- So, where does this grumpy exterior come from, Rory asked, seemingly not convinced, despite her mother's current dreamy look. 

- William's teething, Lorelai said with a sigh, Rory's lips forming an 'oh' in understanding as she elaborated. - He manages to sleep maybe an hour or two tops before he wakes up, crying. And while Luke and I are trying to take shifts on seeing to him, neither one of us manages to go back to sleep while knowing William's in pain, so it always ends up with both of us getting up. 

- The crib still being in your bedroom probably isn't helping, either, Rory pointed out, then frowned. - Unless you've already converted my room into the nursery. 

- Never, Lorelai insisted. - I mean, yes, we're working on moving William to his own room, so we're constructing a new room right across the hall from me, but believe me when I say I never ever considered using your room. Your room will always be your room, for as long as you want it to be. There won't be a single time where you'll not be welcome to come home and use it. 

- I seem to recall one time where I did come home, and found my room filled to the rim with broccoli tarts, Rory pointed out. 

- Geez, it was _one_ time, Lorelai groaned. - _And_ it was in the middle of the week, so you completely surprised me showing up like that. 

- So, you're saying I need to give you a couple of hours notice, Rory asked, teasingly. 

- Exactly. 

Suddenly Rory's stomach gave an abnormally loud rumble, causing both of them to break out in laughter. Sobering up, Lorelai realized exactly how hungry she was as well, one glance at the clock she had hanging over the door confirmed that it was nearly lunchtime. 

- What do you say we take this to the kitchen, Lorelai suggested. - I bet Sookie wouldn't mind whipping something special up for the two of us. 

She didn't wait for a reply before pulling her daughter through the door and across the hallway. Just as Lorelai was about to grab the door knob, there was a loud crash coming from the other side. Rory raised her brows and looked at her mom. 

- Are we sure it's safe for us to go in there, she asked. 

- Sookie, Lorelai called out. 

- I'm okay, Sookie shouted from somewhere on the other side of the door. - I'm okay! 

TBC 


	103. The Unexpected Hero

AN: Okay, so I'm wondering something. When was the last time I complained about reviews? It has to be a good while since, now, right? Where did you guys go? I know there's a lot of variation when people can review and when they can't, but the drop in reviews with the last chapter was pretty drastic. What happened? And moving on; who here has seen the series premiere for Private Practice? I thought it was alright, could have been better, but could also have been much worse, so I'm moderately pleased. Just wondering one thing; why did they hire someone new to play Naomi? No offence to the "new" Naomi, but I liked the original better. My favorite part in this episode is definietly Addison dancing, both in the beginning and in the end. Looking forward to Grey's Anatomy tomorrow, if I can find the episode that soon, of course. I hope so, cause I've been _dying_ to see it. What is gonna happen with Meredith and Derek? I'm on my toes, here. And lastly, as usual, I will give some kudos to Steph, for betaing this chapter for me. Not too many chapters now until she can say she's betaed 100 chapters for me... lol. Thanks, hon.

**Venni Venti** - Happy to hear you started reading again. And do not apologize for ranting, I love when people rant in reviews. I can't guarantee that William will hit college before the story's over, cause honestly we'd be looking at my own kids going to college by the time I could finish the fic, but I can promise we still have a lot left before it's over. And I'd love to be a professional writer one day, but right now I am happy to live in the world of fics. My best pal's an author and he's struggling financially (and not because he's not good, cause he's amazingly talented, but because his publishers never considered getting his books translated to english and the norwegian market is pretty small), while I'm making a pretty nice sum of money as a programmer. Plus if I was to make it my occupation, then I fear the spark might go out of it and I would stop writing fics. I'm not ready for that right now. I love it too much. Good luck with your own writing, I'm sure that if you put your mind and soul into it, it will be very good. And if you don't reach where you want to go right ahead, then remember; my first fics sucked beyond anything, but I grew and learned from my mistakes. As long as you love it, the sky's the limit.

**smileyGGfan** - I'd say that's pretty good dedication ;) The hotness will come soon enough, it's not like they can keep their hands off each other for long... lol. Sookie's okay, she's Sookie. I have a theory that woman has some sort of super powers that enables her to survive all kinds of kitchen disasters.

**cywen69** - I'm tempted to shake my finger at you for tricking your kids like that... lol. Sneaky, sneaky woman. But brilliant, I've got to remember that one for when I have kids. And by the way, you kinda inspired a few things in this chapter with your review. Many thanks. But I'm shocked you want to ship Rory off right away, when she's just come home... lol.

**GGjunkie33** - Read and reviewed, hope it helped :)

**Copop** - lol, it's only a sub-pairing. And yeah, he is growing up, but I wouldn't say it's been fast. 7 months in 52 chapters, I'd call that pretty slow compared to... well, almost all other GG fics on here. Though there's a Meredith/Derek fic that I love that has a much slower time aspect than mine, where 50 chapters (but much longer than mine in size) has spun over a 2-3 week period. I wouldn't call your review lame, but if you feel like "making up for it" I wouldn't mind it... lol

* * *

This here was exactly why Luke Danes, for so many years, had been anti kids. They were messy, loud and obnoxious; rubbing food all over the tables and seats, anywhere food wasn't supposed to be going and they just never seemed to stop crying. Whenever they weren't eating or sleeping or sticking some plastic toy into their mouths, they'd be crying. Non-stop. And he'd never had the patience for it, no understanding of how some people could find the inner calm to bring up a kid and no particular desire to do it himself. So William crying inconsolably should've been the perfect recipe for bringing out that side of him, except when William cried like that, Luke was unable to feel annoyed. His emotions were taken over by worry and empathy towards this little person, part him and part Lorelai, who was in pain and who didn't understand why. Luke wanted more than anything to feel the pain for him, not because it would stop the crying, but because he hated knowing that his son was hurting and there was little he could do about it.

The chilled wet cloth only worked to a degree. It would ease William's crying, and seemed to soothe his tender gums for the time being, but it did little to help his other aches. Since Saturday William hadn't been able to sleep through the night, despite having done so for months, now. This made him both tired and cranky, much like his parents, and he was much more easily upset. Luke was also sure his constant crying was giving the boy headaches, another thing that the seven month old didn't understand. Couldn't understand. And Luke didn't particularly care for the fever, no matter how normal Lorelai claimed it was.

Nothing, it seemed, had gone right that day. William had been in a rather foul mood since the moment he woke up, crying half the time and clinging to Luke the rest. He kept rubbing his eyes, but everytime Luke tried putting him down in his crib, he would cry, sometimes calling out 'baba', other times not. The crying was the theme of the day. The boy, who normally had a very healthy appetite, pushed the spoon away whenever it came anywhere near his mouth one minute, only to cry out of hunger the next. Anything could set him off and he was impossible to comfort. So, of course, when Ceasar knocked on the door, letting Luke know they could _really_ use his assistance downstairs; Luke foresaw disaster. However, when he came downstairs, a whimpering William tugging at his shirt, he was handed help, in the form of teething gel.

Ironically enough his savior turned out to be Kirk of all people, who explained that his girlfriend, Lulu, who according to Kirk was 'great with kids', had suggested using it to help dull the pain. Apparently _all_ of Stars Hollow had tuned in to see the developments of William's teething. _Damn nosy town_! Though, in this particular case, he felt grateful. He wouldn't have believed how quickly it worked if he hadn't seen it with his very own eyes and in his euphoria over finally seeing William relax in his arms, the little boy's eyes already drooping, suggesting he'd fall asleep soon enough, Luke may have promised Kirk free meals for the coming week. He wasn't entirely sure, but suspected Kirk would make sure he kept whatever it was he'd promised him. Of course William only slept for about an hour before hunger got the best of him and he woke up, but once his little tummy was full, he nodded off again.

The dinner rush was beginning to slow down and Luke noted that it'd been a good five hours since William had nodded off last. Thinking about the last couple of days, the silence felt a bit too unreal to comprehend and he'd taken more than a few trips upstairs to check that the boy was still breathing. Funny how much you worry as a parent. Relief washed over him everytime he bent over the crib and watched his son's chest rise and fall in a steady rhythm, his little limbs sprawled out in all directions. It was a hypnotic thing, watching his son sleep. He'd felt the tooth that was coming in. When he'd rubbed the gel over William's gums, he'd felt the hard substance that was pushing its way through the flesh. He only barely saw the white of it, sticking up amongst the flush pink that surrounded it, but it was definitely there. The other, he'd only felt as a hard lump beneath the soft flesh, but give it a day or two, it, too, should be visible.

His little boy was growing up so fast, Luke realized. It wasn't because he'd missed out on most of it, as even though he regretted not having been an acting father since day one, he'd realized that he _had_ been there every step of the way. The thought was just that, a thought, an observation. Soon he would be voicing his thoughts using words, he'd start crawling, then walking, then running. And then Luke would teach him to play baseball. Well, maybe they'd start on softball first, with one of those foam balls. Baseballs were just too hard, could knock a grown man out if one weren't careful. He didn't even want to think what one of those balls would do to a small child. Yes, definitely, they'd start out with a foam ball. Those thoughts made him smile.

Luke was still smiling when he was refilling the coffee pot and heard the familiar sound of the bell ringing above the door. He really didn't need to turn around to know who'd just walked in. He just knew it was her. By now he'd stopped questioning how he knew. He just did. Deciding to save time, he simply grabbed a mug right away and started filling it up.

- Um, actually, we're gonna need two of those, Lorelai said from right behind his back.

- Why? Did the inn run out, he enquired, already fetching a second mug.

Maybe it was left over from the euphoria over finally getting William to sleep, but he really didn't feel like arguing at all. Lorelai could probably ask him to do a Tom Cruise, Risky Business and he'd do it without objection. Okay, maybe not, but right there and then it felt like he would.

- No, it's just that I don't particularly feel like sharing, Lorelai replied.

- Hey, Luke, a familiar voice said, from somewhere behind him to the right.

Luke turned around immediately.

- Rory, he said, the surprise evident in his voice. - I didn't know you were coming home today.

- That makes two of us, Lorelai commented, dryly.

- For goodness sake, Rory sighed. - I'm sorry I didn't call, but we didn't know if we were gonna make it home today or not and I didn't want to get your hopes up in case we were delayed. Geez.

Luke sensed the topic had been brought up more than a few times since Rory had shown up and decided not to take it any further.

- Where's Jess, he asked, instead.

- At work, Rory shrugged.

Luke raised his brows at the statement, but he didn't comment any further on it. He had to remind himself that Jess had grown a lot in the past year, was taking a lot more responsibility. After all, he'd managed to hold the same job for almost a year now, as well as geting his GED. He wasn't the same messed up kid that Liz had sent him anymore, at least not entirely. He should be proud of him. He was proud of him.

- Has he decided what he wants to do this year, Luke asked, realizing he had no idea what his nephew had planned for his future.

He knew college was out of the question. Jess had made that pretty clear since the beginning and Luke hadn't heard anything to the contrary. Whatever the choice was, Luke had decided he wasn't gonna judge. Jess was an adult now and had proven for the past year that he could take care of himself. He'd paid his rent on time, covered his shifts _and_ gone to class. And he'd done it without adult supervision. He also seemed happy. And if this was what he wanted to do with his life, then Luke was gonna be happy for him. It wasn't Wal-Mart or any other kind of crap job people out there was willing to hand him, it was a bookstore. Jess loved to read. Besides Rory, Luke had only ever seen Jess be passionate about one thing, and that was reading.

- He's still figuring things out, Rory replied. - He's gonna start taking some extra shifts at the shop, maybe even start working full-time.

- That's good, Luke nodded. - Tell him, I'm proud of him.

- I will, Rory promised.

- So, how was your trip?

- It was good, Rory smiled. - We went everywhere. Okay, maybe not, but it sure felt that way a lot of the time. We even went to California to visit his dad.

Luke decided to ignore the uneasy feeling he got from hearing about Jimmy. It was not in his place to say anything. Jess was the one he abandoned and if Jess managed to find a way to see past that and build a relationship with his father, then that was a good thing. Jimmy didn't deserve it, but Jess did and Luke was determined to be happy on Jess' behalf.

- Honey, show him what you got for William, Lorelai suggested.

She said it to Rory, but her eyes were on Luke the whole time. It was like she'd read his thoughts. Maybe she had or maybe she'd just remembered how Luke felt about the man who abandoned both his sister and nephew when they needed him the most. Either way, he sent her a grateful smile as Rory dived into the little bag that Luke noticed only now she had brought. Rory fished out an infant-sized t-shirt. It was one of those they sold in many of the crappy tourist shops all over and had 'my sister went to California, and all I got was this lousy t-shirt' written across the chest.

- Couldn't resist, she said, smiling sheepishly.

Of course she couldn't. She wouldn't be a Gilmore girl if she could. Luke smiled and nodded, then glanced over at Lorelai. He was pretty sure she was already picturing their little boy in that shirt.

- Where's William, she asked. - Is he asleep?

- He is, Luke nodded, noticing the look of disbelief on her face.

He couldn't blame her, it was pretty incredible that William was still down for the count.

- Miracle worker, Lorelai exclaimed, impressed. - For how long?

Luke glanced down at his watch.

- Five... and a half hours, he noted.

- You're pulling my leg, now, right, Lorelai asked, not even waiting for him to answer. - How on earth did you manage that?

- Kirk gave me a teething gel, Luke shrugged.

- Kirk, Lorelai asked, raising her brows. - Seriously?

- Don't ask, he replied.

Lorelai didn't, but she gave him a look which was a cross between confusion and admiration. Then after a couple of moments she opened her mouth to say something, only she was cut off by William's cry coming from the baby monitor. Both her and Luke instinctively reacted immediately, both ready to move in the direction of upstairs when a number of things happened. The bell above the diner rang and a rather large crowd of tourists, probably a group of some kind, came walking in. Lorelai noticed and gestured for him to go deal with his new customers while she went to get William, only to be interrupted by her cell phone ringing. Rory immediately jumped out of her seat, announcing;

- I'll go.

- The gel's over by the nightstand, Luke called after her, just as Lorelai answered her phone.

- _Hello?_

- Outside, Luke told her.

- Rachel, hi, Lorelai said into the phone, ignoring Luke's demand.

Luke froze for a moment, wondering if Lorelai was talking to who he thought she was talking to. He shook his head seconds later, deciding it couldn't be her. Thousands of women all across the country were named Rachel, the chance that his girlfriend was talking to his ex over the phone was miniscule at best. Pointing one more time at the door, knowing she wouldn't oblige, he went to deal with his new customers. However he couldn't help catching small phrases of the conversation while taking orders and pouring coffee.

- _Really? ... I thought you guys were long gone by now... oh, you're leaving_ this _Saturday. Got it. I thought it was last week. Now I'm with you ... Tomorrow? Yeah, sure, I'd love to ... Yeah, okay, I can meet you there ... Noon? Yeah, I think that'll be okay. What? ... Yeah, of course, go back to your packing ... tell him I said hi back ... Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow._

Luke had returned behind the counter and was handing the orders to Ceasar when Lorelai hung up.

- Who was it, he asked, casually.

- Oh, that was Rachel, Lorelai replied, matter-of-factly.

- Rachel, Luke asked.

- Oh, right, she exclaimed. - I forgot I hadn't told you yet. I ran into Rachel just recently.

- You mean Rachel, as in _my_ Rachel, Luke asked, immediately regretting the phrasing.

Lorelai, however, didn't seem to have a problem with the labeling and simply nodded. Then Luke remembered that Lorelai had been pretty chummy with Rachel the last time the woman had been in Stars Hollow. A little too chummy for his taste, as he'd felt like they'd been ganging up on him all the time.

- So, what's she doing back, he asked, also wondering how he hadn't seen her yet, despite having been back for two weeks now.

- Oh, she lives in Hartford now, Lorelai informed him.

Luke had a hard time believing Rachel was living anywhere. Ever since she'd been out of school, she'd constantly been on the move, only stopping by friends and loved ones every now and then. Also, he had pictured that if she were to settle down somewhere, it would be somewhere more exotic than Hartford. It didn't really make sense. Lorelai obviously was picking up on the many questions swirling around his head.

- She's doing this whole compromise thing with her boyfriend, she explained. - For most of the year she does local assignments, then when he has time off, he comes with her to wherever she wants to go. They're going on an extensive trip to East-Asia this summer; China, Mongolia, Japan, probably some other places as well. He's even made a deal with Chilton to prolong his holiday into the new school year, since they were desperate for summer school teachers.

- Chilton, Luke asked, confused.

- Oh, I keep forgetting I haven't told you anything about this, Lorelai said, lightly smacking her head. - You'll never believe who Rachel's dating.

- Who, Luke asked, really having no clue.

- Max, Lorelai revealed.

Luke raised his brows in surprise. Not that he had any picture in his head of who Rachel might hook up with, but Lorelai's ex-fiancé? He definitely hadn't expected that. How often did that happen? Probably not that often.

- They're closing in on a year now, Lorelai nodded, probably seeing the look of disbelief on his face. - But yeah, that's pretty much how I looked when I first realized.

- Do they know about us, he asked.

Lorelai nodded.

- Rachel even guessed about William, she told him. - Both are passing on their congrats, by the way.

- So, you see them a lot, he wondered.

- Not really, Lorelai said, shaking her head. - I've seen Rachel just two times, when I ran into her and when we had lunch a few days later. That's when I ran into Max. And that's about it.

- So, what's tomorrow about, then, Luke asked.

- Well, Rachel showed her boss some of the photos she'd taken of the Dragonfly and he wanted her to do a small interview for a possible article he wants to do on it, I think it either was about up and coming places or the hidden tourist gems of Connecticut. I'll find out more about it tomorrow. She's right in the middle of packing and the last preparations for her holiday, so she wanted to know if I could meet her for a brief interview, so she could leave a sample piece before leaving. It's not for certain or anything, but Rachel's nice and who am I to pass up the opportunity for some free publicity?

Before Luke could form a reply, Rory came through the curtain, carrying a newly awoken William, who was now sporting the t-shirt she'd brought. He wasn't crying like he had earlier in the day and the past few days, but he was definitely crying. This, however, was a cry Luke was beginning to recognize.

- Someone's hungry, Rory informed the couple, looking between them, debating on who to pass the baby over to.

Ceasar handed over a couple of hot plates, so Luke simply gestured to his suddenly full hands.

- There's a couple of jars in the fridge upstairs, he informed them, before taking the plates to his customers.

Lorelai shifted William around in her arms, placing a kiss on his temple, shushing him ever so slightly. She vanished through the curtain a minute later, just as Luke went back to take the next two plates from Ceasar.

TBC


	104. Secrets

AN: So, I wasn't sure if I was gonna get this chapter done on time, as I am leaving for London (well, Heathrow to be more precise) tomorrow right after work, but I made it and I'm really happy I did, since I had failed to give you guys a warning that there was a possibility of a delay. Like I said, I'm leaving tomorrow and I won't be back until Monday afternoon and then my parents are coming to visit for the week, so I really can not guarantee there will be an update before the end of next weekend. I will try my best, however. In the meantime, you guys can enjoy this update and I will enjoy the convention :)

AN2: I know I normally always give some love to my beta Steph, but today I am giving her some extra love and care, since she could need it after the weekend she had. So this chapter I dedicate to Steph's beloved dog, Nicki. May she rest in peace.

**cywen69** - Well, it's not necessarily the teething gel being strong, the sleep deprivation kinda did the rest. Still, yeah, I may have exaggerated it a little bit more than I should have, but done is done and I hope you can accept and forgive my mistake. As for Lorelai not thinking about it, well, kids are different, so it's very possible that she as an infant didn't feel the same amount of pain as William did. It's the theory I chose to use, at least.

**hypey27** - I actually think Grey's won't be too bad this year. I didn't hate last season, but I agree it was a bit too turned to the dark side, but I think the writers are gonna steer this season into a lighter direction. Did you love the "break-up" as much as I did? I kept thinking to myself "why couldn't LL's break-ups be like that?". I have no idea how I'm gonna be able to wait 10 whole days before I can see next week's episode.

**smileyGGfan** - Well, when Luke's an outsider to the whole kid-thing, he really only gets to see the not so fun aspects of kids and not the many joys, but when he gets a closer relationship to a kid, like with Doula (I would say April and Rory, but they were much older when he got to know them), you can see the softness in him come out. And he gets this whole new understanding about kids. It's kinda the same principle as with Sookie, who didn't really like other people's kids, but who is a terrific mom to her own. As for Max and Rachel, I don't see them doubling with LL anytime soon, I'm more interested in the potential friendship between Lorelai and Rachel and developing it. That being said, it doesn't mean there won't be a situation or two down the line that the four of them will interact, but right now they have no reason to. They are two different couples living two different lives.

**Copop** - Yes, the title mainly referred to Kirk, but on a secondary level it could also refer to Luke handling William so well, despite his view of kids in general. But that's just on a secondary level. Teething gel very much exists and is on a long list of tips on handling teething babies (thank you, Google), so no, Kirk didn't invent something this time. And the lack of the hello kiss is simply because they haven't officially outed their relationship to the town yet, because they don't want the attention just yet. They didn't kiss each other hello over the counter before they were outed on the show, either. And the name change is in the works.

**moveon.luke** - Luke has forgiven her, he wouldn't have kissed her if he hadn't.

**Venni Venti** - You're welcome and I'm looking forward to the rants :)

**NeuroticFemale** - Yeah, I know Sherilyn Fenn originally played Jimmy's girlfriend. But I find that as similar to Anna and April as you do, because April was more a science geek than a reading geek.

**cwerner** - URLs don't show up here, but don't worry, I have two sites which provides download links for PP and GA, so I'm good. And since it's the only way I can see the episodes as quickly as I do (seeing as Norway airs Grey's a whole YEAR after the US does), I'm very aware of it. I like Violet and Cooper, too. I think next to Addison they are gonna be my favorites. And I like Pete. The rest I'll just have to wait and see about.

* * *

Rory couldn't put her finger on what exactly, but something had definitely been off with her mother ever since she came home from work that day. She'd been distracted and distant with her, something, which especially considering the fact that Rory had just come back the day before, was highly unusual of her. She'd almost immediately gone straight up to her bedroom, excusing it with her having to get ready for Friday Night Dinner. She hadn't used her usual millions of excuses on why she shouldn't have to go to her parents house. In fact, she'd barely said anything, hadn't even looked her in the eyes once. It was like she was uncomfortable to be in her daughter's presence. And the few times Rory had bothered to ask her if everything was alright, she'd received a brief 'fine' in return. Lorelai was hiding something, which really wasn't like her at all. If anything, Rory would define her and her mother's communication to be on the verge of over share.

But, as it turned out, it wasn't just she who thought something was wrong. Luke, when the two had stopped by to pick William up, as Emily would never let them get away with not bringing her only grandson, had received the same silent, distant treatment and looked as confused about it as Rory, herself, was. Rory could tell he was already wondering if it was something _he_ had done. She shook her head no and simply shrugged, trying to hint to him that she had no idea what was going on, but that she didn't believe him to be the source of it. It wasn't that she was getting any closer to figuring it out, but it was in her experience that whenever something was going on that made Lorelai mad or cross at Luke, Rory would be the first one to hear about it.

It didn't improve when they reached the Gilmore mansion. Lorelai was so distracted she didn't even joke with the new maid who opened the door. Rory almost began fearing that the pod people had come and taken over her mother. When Emily came into the foyer from the livingroom, Lorelai forced a polite smile. She made no joke when Emily commented on how much William had grown since she'd last seen him, nor did she protest when she'd been handed a Sidecar instead of her usual Gin Martini. Lorelai had simply accepted the drink and sat down in her usual spot on the couch with William securely sitting on her lap. All throughout drinks, Lorelai didn't say more than a few words, tops. Rory also noticed her mother hadn't even touched her drink. Luckily she had been alert enough to keep it out of range of William, who'd gotten very curious over whatever it was his mother was holding and had reached his chubby little hands out towards it in an attempt to grab it.

Deciding that Lorelai would come to her whenever she felt ready to talk about whatever it was that was bothering her, Rory ignored her mother's antics and filled her grandmother in on her trip across the country instead. This also helped distract Emily a little bit, as Rory could tell her grandmother had fully noted that Lorelai was not quite herself today. And luckily, by the time she had run out of stories, the maid came in and announced that dinner was ready for them. When Emily simply gestured for them to get up and head to the dining room, Lorelai finally said something that was more than a simple answer or a courtesy;

- Where's dad?

- He's having a conference call with some of his clients in his study, Emily replied, matter-of-factly. - He will join us as soon as he finishes.

Lorelai raised her brows at this answer. Then again, even Rory found the timing of this call a bit odd. Sure her grandfather was known to take a call or two outside of work and lock himself up in his study whenever he had a little extra work that needed to be done, but he rarely did so on Friday nights, especially not when the two of them hadn't been over in a couple of weeks. And frankly, Rory was surprised Emily was letting him get away with it.

- _Now_, Lorelai asked.

- He's conferencing with New Zealand, Emily explained. - He's been doing this all day, talking to one country after another, but he promised this would be the last one and he will try and keep it as short as possible, but whether that will be another ten minutes or three more hours, I have no idea, so he'll have to come to the dining room when he's done.

Rory nodded, but didn't fail to catch the frown that appeared on Lorelai's face as she heard the answer.

Dinner was pot roast, one of Rory's favorites. She suspected that was exactly why Emily had chosen it, seeing as they hadn't seen one another for over a month, with her grandparents spending the month on Martha's Vineyard and, of course, Rory taking her own trip. William had been given his own dinner, of course, strained peas and carrots, but he paid very little interest to his own food and insisted on tasting everyone else's instead. Lorelai mashed up a couple of her vegetables along with some of the sauce and started feeding him.

It went well for about two spoonfuls, then William reached out for the spoon and started to whimper when Lorelai didn't automatically surrender the spoon to him. Then when she blocked his attempts from grabbing it as she tried giving him one more bite of dinner, the whimper grew. The whole thing escalated until William somehow got his foot on the table and landed it in the middle of the bowl of strained peas, sending it crashing to the floor. The bowl was luckily plastic, so nothing was broken, but the content had spilled out onto Emily and Richard's very expensive rug. William was crying and rubbing his eyes franticly so Lorelai picked him up, placing a comforting kiss to his temple as she carried him out of the room. When Emily let out the breath she was holding, she turned to Rory, as if to ask what on earth that had been about. Rory sent her grandmother an apologetic shrug.

- He's teething, she explained. - And he's probably still tired. He's been sleeping badly for the past few days.

Emily seemed to accept the explanation.

- _Gertrude_, she called out.

- Yes, Mrs. Gilmore, the maid replied, as she entered the dining room.

- There's been a little accident with my grandson's dinner, Emily told her. - I need you to get a broom and a wet towel to clean it up before it stains the carpet.

- Right away, Mrs. Gilmore, Gertrude replied with a brief curtsy before leaving the room.

Emily didn't comment on the incident any further. Not even when Lorelai came back in, informing them that she'd put William down to sleep in the crib the Gilmore's had set up in Lorelai's old bedroom upstairs. Rory figured Emily probably mounted Lorelai's odd behaviour up to sleep deprivation. The dinner continued with Emily asking Rory some more about her holiday, then moving on to her plans for the summer and what classes she intended to take in the upcoming school year. It was only when they neared the end of the main course that her grandfather decided to announce his presence.

- You're late, Emily informed him, the tone of her voice telling everyone exactly how she felt about his timing, or rather; lack of.

- I'm sorry, dear, Richard told his wife, dropping a brief kiss to her forehead before moving to the other side of the table. - There were a few more clauses to the contract than we had anticipated and we couldn't end the meeting until we had cleared up a couple of misunderstandings that had arisen.

He plopped down into his chair and looked around the table.

- We seem to be missing someone, he noted, gesturing to the empty high chair next to Lorelai.

- He was tired, so we had to put him to bed, Emily responded, making it sound like it had been a group effort.

Rory was picking up on an odd vibe that she couldn't remember having been there the last time she'd seen them.

- I was simply making an observation, Richard explained.

- And I was informing you that when you prioritize your work over your family, you are bound to miss out on seeing your grandson.

Rory didn't like this tension that was quickly filling the room. She searched her mind to find a story, any story from her trip that she could tell her grandfather and divert his and Emily's attention from this little spat they were having. Surprisingly enough it was Lorelai who spoke up first.

- So, dad, she said. - Business seems to be going well?

Emily raised her brows at this, as Lorelai had barely said a thing to her all evening.

- Yes, Richard replied, smiling. - The firm is doing very well. We are right in the middle of securing a large contract with an international shipping organization, with major offices based all around the world, which explains the many phone conferences I've had to do all day. It's very exciting in a very exhausting kind of way.

- Sounds like it, Rory chimed in, happy on her grandfather's behalf.

- All day, huh, Lorelai asked, not sounding very enthusiastic at all. - So you've been cooped up in your office the whole time?

- Well, I did stretch my legs out on the patio a couple of times, Richard chuckled.

- What about you, mom, Lorelai then asked Emily.

- What about me, Emily asked, confused.

- How has your day been? Did you do anything exciting?

Emily looked to Rory, who simply shrugged at Lorelai's sudden interest in her parents daily events.

- Well, if it interests you, Emily began. - I had brunch with the ladies from the DAR over at Constance Betterton's house, before I had my hair done, seeing as I missed my usual Wednesday appointment, then I had a brief meeting with the flower committee.

- So, a hectic day in other words, Rory commented.

- Yeah, Lorelai said in agreement, barely audible, before reverting back to her apathetic, silent self.

Her grandfather joining them, helped Rory monopolize conversation throughout the remaining dinner and dessert. It was pretty obvious to her that whatever it was that was going on with her mom, she wouldn't hear it until they walked out the front door at the earliest. Time had decided not to be her friend and moved at the speed of an old lady crossing an icy road, but eventually the dessert was taken away by the maid and they said their goodbyes, under the pretence that they wanted to go home to get William to bed. Neither grandparent questioned it and both gave Rory a parting hug. Lorelai simply nodded to her parents before leaving the house. They both walked to the car in silence. When Lorelai had fastened a sleepy William to his car seat and seated herself behind the wheel, Rory finally spoke up;

- Okay, mom, truth time. You've been weird all day, so what's up?

At first Lorelai didn't say anything, just stared blankly ahead. Rory was about to repeat her question, when her mother almost whispered;

- I think dad is cheating on mom.

That had definitely not been what Rory had expected.

- I'm sorry, _what_, she asked, leaning in to find out if she had heard wrong or not.

- I had lunch with Rachel today, Lorelai began. - I had just gone to the bathroom, then when I was on my way back to my table, I saw dad sitting at one of the tables over by the window, having lunch with some woman.

- Mom, are you sure you aren't reading too much into this, Rory asked. - Grandpa does have female clients, after all. Are you sure you didn't just see one of his usual business lunches?

- Well, that was what I thought at first, Lorelai said. - But there was just something about the way they were acting. They were friendly and comfortable, like they really knew each other well.

- But doesn't grandpa always talk about how you have to build strong relations, get a good relationship with the client, Rory pointed out, not ready at all to accept her mother's assumptions as anything more than wild, unrealistic guesswork.

- If there's one thing Richard Gilmore is very specific about, it's professionalism, Lorelai countered. - We're talking about the man who's more than a few times scolded me for being too personal with my customers.

- Mom, this is crazy, Rory insisted. - Grandpa would _never_ cheat on grandma.

- Honey, I'm not saying this because I want to, Lorelai sighed. - I didn't even want to tell you this, because I know how close the two of you are.

- It's a client, mom. It _has_ to be a client.

- He lied, Rory, Lorelai pointed out. - You were there. I asked him if he'd been home all day and he let both us and mom believe he had.

They both fell quiet as they both sunk back in their seats. It was a quiet night. Even with both windows open, it was a quiet night. A soft breeze passed through the leaves in the nearby tree and in the faint distance she could hear the buzz of steady traffic. She glanced over at her mother, who had reverted to a similar state as she'd been in during the whole dinner.

- Are you okay, she asked.

- Am I okay, Lorelai said, chuckling at the question. - I just broke the news to my daughter that her grandfather, whom she adores, might be having an affair with some strange woman that I saw for the first time in my life, today.

She wiped her eyes with the edge of her palm and Rory noticed that her mother's eyes were glassy and turning red.

- Mom, she asked.

- I'm sorry, Lorelai muttered. - I guess my reaction is finally catching up with me.

- Are you okay to drive, Rory asked.

- Um, Lorelai replied, wiping away a couple of more tears.

- I'll drive, Rory decided.

- Okay.

TBC


	105. It's official

AN: I'm baaaack! Missed me? Many thanks to those of you who wished me a great trip and many thanks from Steph to those of you who sent her well wishes and sympathised with her situation. She really appreciates it. So, yeah, I had a great trip, despite the two people I was most looking forward to seeing having to cancel. I had fun and got to meet some great people, and found another show I have to buy. That's conventions for ya. And apparently I appear on a couple of convention DVD's, as well. Fun! And a completely random thing; my hair is now blue. I have to congratulate many of you on being spot on about Richard's secret meeting. Very sharp!

An2: Here's a funny tidbit of information. This chapter was inspired by a conversation me and Steph had back when I was writing chapter 70 (yes, I know, I plan very far ahead sometimes) and one suggestion Steph came with, that's what I ended up doing here. More funny is that she doesn't even remember that she came with it, so if I'd really wanted to I could've taken the credit myself. Here's to you, Steph. Hope you're enjoying your vacation. Thanks to Jessi, who offered to beta this, so I could update today :)

**Corinna** - Aw, I'm sorry to hear they cut your review. Are you by any chance using the symbols assosiated with html tags? That might explain it. If so, then try to avoid strange symbols next time you write reviews, okay?

**smileyGGfan** - The Yale/Hardvard game happened just after William was born, but since Lorelai was not there to talk to Pennilyn, the lunches were never revealed. We're now a little over six months later than that in the timeline. I never thought there was any doubt that Lorelai loves her parents and that they love her, but they have a very strained relationship, so it's not always so appearant to the other.

**cywen69** - I never felt you were being critical, I was happy you came with the comment.

**Copop** - Loved that I manage to confuse you. And yeah, I had to name the maid something. They have all sorts of names and nationalities.

**Severien** - Apparently you weren't the only one who thought it. And yeah, I'm having a wisdom tooth coming in as well, no fun at all. Especially not when food gets stuck. I think it's very sweet what you wrote to Steph and she really appreciated the words.

* * *

Lorelai was in an exceptionally good mood when she bounced through the doors of the diner, holding an envelope in her right hand. Normally her bubbly, bouncy persona wouldn't strike Luke as even remotely odd, but comparing this Lorelai to the woman returning from Friday Night Dinner just the night before, he couldn't help but worry a little about this drastic and sudden change of mood. She couldn't have forgotten about her worries and suspicions about her father's possible infidelity already, could she? She plopped onto the stool with not quite enough force to tip it over, but close enough. 

- Guess what, daddy, she told him.

- _Lorelai_, Luke hissed, wondering what on earth could compell her to blurt something like this out in the middle of his diner.

- Relax, there's no one here, she pointed out, then suddenly frowned at her own words, looking around, repeating in a more questioning tone. - There's no one here? It's in the middle of lunch. Where _is_ everybody?

It was then that it finally dawned on Luke that his diner was completely empty, save for Lorelai and himself, of course. And Ceasar, who Luke remembered had run out on some personal errand just a minute ago. He ransacked his mind for about a minute before he remembered something from earlier that day.

- They're probably on their way to Taylor's out-of-the-blue town meeting, he shrugged.

- There's a town meeting and I didn't know about it, Lorelai asked, confused. - Wait, you mean there's a town meeting _now_? But it's the middle of the day. People have work to do, lives to live. What can be so important that it couldn't wait until tonight?

- You're talking about the man who's made it his life mission to get me to decorate my diner for the holidays, Luke pointed out. - Do you really think I'm the right person to ask to get an insight of what's going on in his head?

- So, how come you're not going, she asked.

- I'm working, Luke replied. - Besides, I don't do town meetings.

- Your attendance record would say otherwise, she pointed out.

- Only the regular meetings, he clarified. - And only once in a while when I don't have work or my life interfering. I don't do the extra curricular ones, even when they aren't called at only an hour's notice.

- But what if it's important, Lorelai asked. - Taylor seems to think it can't wait.

- Nothing's that important it can't wait a few hours, Luke said dryly.

- You never know, Lorelai shrugged. - Once in a while something comes along that you just can't wait to share.

- Speaking of which, what was it you wanted to tell me, he asked. - And what are you doing here, anyway? Weren't you and Sookie doing this play date thing today?

- Oh, we are, Lorelai nodded. - The kids are napping right now and Sookie's watching them.

- And you just left her alone like that, Luke asked in disbelief.

- Normally I wouldn't, Lorelai insisted. - But then I spotted something when I went to collect the mail that I just had to come here and share with you right away. Sookie completely understands, by the way.

- So, what is it, Luke asked her, gesturing to the envelope she was still clutching. - I assume that's it.

She nodded vigorously and handed him the envelope. The edge of it was roughly torn, telling him that Lorelai hadn't bothered to go looking for a proper letter opener. He slipped two fingers in and retrieved the folded piece of paper. Letting the envelope fall onto the counter, he unfolded the paper to read.

- The papers were approved, Lorelai grinned. - He's now officially a Danes.

Luke felt a surge of pride as he read the name William Danes off of the official document. It was silly, really. After all, it was only a name. He was still the boy who minutes after his birth had squeezed Luke's finger and captured his heart, still this amazing kid who'd let Luke be the one to witness his very first laugh, still his son. Nothing had really changed, except everything was different. It was final. Permanent. Forever. He was no longer just a blank line on William's birth certificate. The slot had been filled out and his son was now registered with his last name, making it official that Luke was in fact William Danes' father.

Luke couldn't help but read those few important lines over and over again. There were more to the document, but nothing mattered except those couple of lines telling him that it was official. He then glanced over at Lorelai, who was amusedly observing his reaction.

- Look at you being an all proud papa, she teased.

Before he had time to state that he was just being happy, the bell above the diner rang and Ceasar entered the diner.

- Hey, Luke, he said. - Did you know the store's closed?

This caused both Lorelai and Luke to raise their brows in confusion.

- Doose's closed, Lorelai asked, turning to Luke. - But Taylor's principally against closing in the middle of the day. He thinks it's _just the thing that makes customers run to competing businesses_, conveniently forgetting he owns the only grocery store within a five mile radius. Even inventory has to be done after hours.

- Don't look at me, Luke shrugged. - I've given up on understanding what's going on in that man's mind a long time ago.

- The Soda Shoppe's closed, too, Ceasar informed them.

Lorelai immediately turned her head to the right.

- Wow, you're right, she said, in disbelief, getting up from her chair. - Come on.

- What, Luke asked, confused.

- We're going to the town meeting.

- What? Lorelai, Luke objected.

- Taylor closed down both of his businesses for this meeting, not even when the whole town went to Fran's funeral did he do that, Lorelai argued. - Something major's up and I for one am not going to miss it.

- I'm working, Luke pointed out. - I can't just up and leave everything.

- Ceasar, can you hold down the fort while we're gone, Lorelai asked the man.

- Sure thing, he replied.

- Happy, she asked Luke, already pulling him with her out the door.

- Geez, Luke mumbled, but didn't object any further, knowing very well there was no point.

The meeting had already started when they snuck in, but it didn't seem like anything of matter had been addressed yet. Lorelai guided him with her to two empty spots next to Gypsy.

- Did we miss anything yet, she asked the mechanic.

- No, Gypsy replied, shaking her head. - He's been standing there talking nonsense for the past ten minutes. I don't have time for this. I have a business to run and he's wasting my time. The next time he needs his carburettor fixed, I'm charging him double.

- Good plan, Luke heard Lorelai whisper.

- _Ah_, Taylor said from his podium. - Now we can _officially_ set this meeting in motion.

- About time, Patty mumbled, annoyed.

- Yeah, Babette chimed in. - What is this all about, Taylor?

- We will get to it in just a minute, Taylor replied, receiving a choir of groans from the audience. - First I'd like to ask; do we have a Lorelai Gilmore and Lucas Danes with us here tonight?

Lorelai and Luke both looked up as their names were called out.

- _Us_, Lorelai whispered. - _It's about us?_

- They are sitting right here, Gypsy called out. - You saw them walk in just a minute ago.

- I'd also like to point out that it's daytime, Kirk informed the crowd, checking his wrist-watch. - Seven after twelve to be exact.

- It's just a figurative speech, Kirk, Taylor said, rolling his eyes. - I _know_ it's daytime.

- Whatever, Babette screeched from the front row. - Just get on with it.

- Well, if you good people can stop interrupting me, I might just be able to do that, Taylor commented. - Now, as I was saying. Can Ms. Gilmore and Mr. Danes please announce their presence.

- For the love of.., Gypsy groaned. - They're sitting _right_ here.

- Honey, Patty sighed. - Just wave your hand or something, or we'll never get out of here.

- We're here, Taylor, Lorelai called out. - Now, what's this about?

- Ms. Gilmore and Mr. Danes are indeed in the room, Taylor announced.

- Yes, we know, Babette cried out. - Get on with it.

- Well, alright, Taylor said, rolling his eyes. - Since everyone here seems to be in such a hurry, I will get to the core of the matter.

- Finally, Gypsy grumbled, barely audible. - Only took him fifteen minutes, too.

- It has come to my attention that one of our citizens has changed his last name, Taylor continued.

- How do _you_ know about that, Luke asked, causing the entire room to turn their attention to him and Lorelai.

Patty looked as though her eyes were seconds away from popping out of their sockets and Babette turned her head so quickly that she cried out in pain and began rubbing her neck.

- I'm afraid I can not share my sources with you, Luke, Taylor shrugged. - But let's just say I have my ways.

- _You_, honey, Patty asked.

- They got _hitched_, Babette called out at the same time.

- They have no rings, Gypsy pointed out, which was quickly followed by Kirk saying;

- Luke, I might have exactly what you're looking for.

The crowd dissolved into a buzz of voices, half of them offering congratulations to the couple, the other half asking if it was true. Lorelai seemed lost at who to answer first. Luke sighed. How wrong could an entire town get?

- No one got married, he said, but his voice drowned in the buzz of the crowd, so he repeated; - We did _not_ get married!

This time he was heard and the town slowly fell silent. Babette was the first to voice their next question.

- Then why did you change your name, sugah'?

- I... I didn't, Lorelai stuttered.

The crowd looked confused between the couple and Taylor.

- For the love of.., Luke groaned, annoyed at how dense they all were being. - Lorelai didn't change her name, William did.

When they didn't look any the wiser at his revelation, he decided to just get it all over with and blurted out;

- I'm William's father.

TBC

_AN: For anyone who's reacting to the timeline on the name change. Believe me when I said I looked everywhere to find out the exact wait period to expect when changing your name, but I couldn't find it anywhere, so I decided to take some artistic liberty to make this fit where I wanted it to be._


	106. Hedgeclippers, dull ones!

AN: Okay, I apologize in advance for the shortness of this chapter, but it was always meant to be short. I hope you guys like it anyway. This time I want to thank Caf, who was kind enough to beta this one, in the absense of Steph, who's off enjoying her vacation right now. Thank you, Caf!

**Jeremy Shane** - Happy to see I held your attention from beginning to end, but even more happy to see a real comment. I can already say now that no matter what comes Rory's way, Logan will not be a fixture. I have no reason to bring him in. As for the rest, you'll have to wait and see.

**smileyGGfan** - But if I were not to end the last chapter like it did, I wouldn't be giving you this chapter. And Taylor did know the name change was about William, but with the assumptions made by the rest of the town, he didn't get the time to say it.

**Corinna** - Whoa, hold your horses, let them actually have a relationship before we marry them off... lol

**SelenaD** - Hmm... I seem to recall someone telling me they were gonna review every chapter when they started to read again. What happened to that plan? lol. As for what you think of my Rory plans, remember that my plans can stretch tenfolds of chapters into the future and by the time I reach that possibility, you might have changed your mind about it (or I have, we'll see). And I always bleach before I dye a new color. I learned my lesson when I tried going from green to brown that if I don't the old color will effect the new.

**rollsdownhill** - Your scream brightened my day. Absolutely hilarious! And I would have hung up as well, I don't blame your friend at all. I dunno if I should say good or bad that she's used to it... lol. Thank you so much, you make me blush, you know.

**piggyoinks247** - Thank you so much, I hope you eventually will read the other chapters as well ;)

**Venni Venti** - Thank you for your attempt to rant, made me smile (no mom here to see it, so I won't freak her out... lol). I'm sorry the updates are more spread out now, but life's more busy and stressful than it was when I first started out. But I am trying to keep it up as much as I can.

**Copop** - Honey, you do realize they've barely had time to have a relationship yet, right? A couple of weeks before Luke's venture to Maine and a couple of weeks after his return. They need more time to be a couple before we can start thinking marriage and such. Give them time, we'll get there eventually.

* * *

Complete, utter exhaustion hit them both as they exited Miss Patty's. Luke was by no means a naive man, but not even he had anticipated the sheer number of questions the town had ended up bombarding them with, once learning the truth about William's existence. He did get it to a degree. This was Stars Hollow, where everything was everyone's business and privacy was a rare privilege, but there had to be a limit to the amount of information his fellow citizens felt entitled to. At least there should be. That they wanted to know a couple of 'how's and 'why's regarding Nicole was to be expected. After all, he had dated the woman on and off during Lorelai's entire pregnancy, even through the first few months of his son's young life. But aside from that he had a hard time understanding what business Babette, Patty and even Taylor had demanding every detail about his lovelife, or even worse; his sexlife. He really didn't see what they needed to know the time and date of conception for. Luke was pretty sure real smoke had poured out of his nostrils when Taylor had had the audacity of asking it and if looks could kill, the older man wouldn't even have known what hit him.

Even as they walked across the square in complete silence, Luke could still feel the tension in his neck and shoulders, which had been building up throughout the meeting, but which had now slowly began to ease. It helped to feel Lorelai's hand in his own, her fingers softly intertwined with his. She had grabbed his hand somewhere in the middle of the meeting as a way of displaying solidarity with him, standing up with him against the town's questions and accusations. It had probably been the one and only thing that had kept him from launching at Taylor, when the man had unveiled several charts and diagrams as a way of convincing the town that their co-mingling was a bad idea. He had been generally annoyed and angry with the man in the past and was sure there would be plenty of occasions in the future, where Taylor would get on his nerves again, but he had never before felt this incredible rage against another human being before. He actually expected him to abandon his son and girlfriend for the good of the town? Luke shook with anger.

Obviously feeling it, Lorelai gently squeezed his hand and looked up at him. Her taking his hand like that had been the very first time either one of them had intentionally displayed to the town that they were a couple. And that simple gesture had in some strange way strengthened their stand against the larger group.

- So, she said, quietly. - That was...

- Intense, Luke finished for her, nodding.

- Possibly the biggest understatement of the year, she chuckled, then suddenly sobering up. - Are you okay, though?

- I have a very strong urge to wring Taylor's neck, Luke admitted. - Possibly tearing him limb from limb, but not too quickly.

- I have on good authority that dull hedgeclippers should do the trick, Lorelai suggested, flashing a half-smile at him.

This caused Luke to chuckle and smile back, resiting the urge to ask on whose authority, as he had a pretty good idea who.

- Maybe I'll look into it, he joked in return.

- But you were serious, though, she asked. - About being all in?

- Has anything made you think I wasn't, he asked, surprised.

- No, she shook her head. - But it's just good to get confirmation every now and then, especially with everything that's been going on.

Luke stopped and turned her around to face him. He stared into her eyes, intensely, requesting her attention.

- I'm in this, he told her, in a slow and steady voice. - Don't ever think I'm not.

Lorelai sighed and nodded, a smile slowly creeping upon her face. She looked exceptionally beautiful when she smiled. It had a way of lighting up her face. Forgetting they were not alone, Luke used his free hand to brush a couple of stay hairs away from her forehead, cupping her cheek as he leaned in, planting a soft kiss on her lips. As he completely refused to let go of her other hand, the kiss didn't progress to anything more, which was just as well, as both of them quickly realized they were not within the four walls of Lorelai's house nor were they in his apartment. They were standing not far from the town Gazebo, in full view of almost every single nosy person in town. Luke decided to ignore the double thumbs up from Patty and Babette who were still standing by the dance studio, both of them grinning like idiots. Instead he finally let go of Lorelai's hand in order to slip it around her waist instead, guiding both of them in the direction of the diner.

- You do realize, Lorelai said, as though she just remembered something. - That you promised Taylor to close up and move if we were ever to break up.

- Yeah, Luke sighed, recalling his spur of the moment outburst when Taylor had demanded contingency plan in case of a break-up.

- Then we better make sure we don't break up, Lorelai decided.

- We better, Luke agreed, not wanting to imagine losing either her or William.

- Mmh, she mumbled, letting her head drop to his shoulder. - I'd hate to have to find myself a new coffee supplier.

TBC


	107. Packing frenzy

AN: First off, work finally gave me a project, so from November 5th and onwards I will be commuting to Oslo a couple of days a week, which will be fun, I think. And secondly; welcome back to Steph, who returned from her holiday. Although the temps both did a good job, nothing beats the regular beta who knows this story inside out. I hope you had fun and I'm happy you're back.

**flcrkr** - The hedgeclippers reference came from season 1, when Lorelai imagined the many different ways of sepparating Deans head from his body.

**GGjunkie** - Yeah, I can get how homework and life things can get in the way. I'm happy at least the homework part of it is something I don't have to worry about anymore.

**rollsdownhill** - Feels proud to have acchieved an 'aww'.

**Corinna** - If I had planned to write the actual town action with the 3rd degree interrogation and so on, I would have included it in the same chapter as the rest of the town meeting, but I'm glad that you liked what I did anyway.

**ayli1** - How does one find a story by accident? I'm intrigued, do tell... lol. I'm happy you liked it and here's more for you ;)

**smileyGGfan** - Never, ever apologize for being honest. You hear me? Even if you were to hate what I wrote, I would want to know it, okay? Cause if people aren't willing to tell you the bad stuff, then how can you trust them to be honest about the good stuff? I'm glad that you liked it anyway, even if it wasn't what you expected.

**Jeremy Shane** - I think my question 'who's Carrie Underwood?' pretty much illustrate what I know about country music, but it sounds like a compliment, so thank you. And, no, never heard of 'one life to live'...

**Copop** - I guess it feels like that, because the number of chapters has created an illusion that more time has passed than it actually has.

* * *

Luke didn't like standing up when William was lying on the floor. Actually he didn't like it much when anyone, even Lorelai, walked around while their son was in such a vulnerable position. Less if they were carrying something. The boy might have grown a whole lot since he was born, but William was still so incredibly tiny, so easy to overlook or miss if people were in a hurry. They didn't even need to be in a hurry to stumble over something and fall. He could no longer count all the times he'd imagined the scenario of him, Lorelai or Rory accidentally falling on top of William, or dropping something they were carrying on top of him. He saw himself stepping on one of William's toys and losing his balance. He saw Lorelai walking into the livingroom carrying a cup of coffee and stumbling, sending the beverage flying across the room. He saw Rory stumbling over William himself, cracking her own head on the livingroom table as well as landing on top of her little brother.

It didn't matter that Luke always carefully checked his footing whenever walking close to where William was lying, or that Lorelai was extremely careful when handling hot beverages whenever her baby boy was around, or that Rory paid far too much attention to where William was and what he was doing to ever be able to accidentally trip over him. Luke could still see it clear as day, and it terrified him. Feeling that this was maybe him just being silly, Luke hadn't mentioned this to Lorelai. Instead, whenever William was exploring the floor, he made sure to sit nearby and keep an eye on him and be ready to alert someone of William's presence if they by any chance didn't seem like they'd noticed. Most of all he just wanted to pick the boy up and carry him around. It felt much safer. But although William still loved being carried around and sitting on people's laps, both Luke and Lorelai had noticed him beginning to try and reach for things he saw on the floor. He was beginning to get a little more restless if they kept him in their arms for longer periods of time, so they were making sure to 'listen' more to William's wishes and complying the best they could.

It was also good for his development that he was allowed as much floor-time as they could manage. The baby was on his way to learning to crawl at the moment. He still seemed to prefer rolling towards objects whenever he could, as he had that technique down. After all, there was only so much patience a boy his age could have. So Luke and Lorelai both were trying to place objects directly in front of his head, which he couldn't reach by turning to rolling and therefore had to try and find other ways of reaching. At the moment William had achieved his goal by kicking his tiny feet and stretching his arms, lying halfway on his side, but one or two times he had managed by halfway crawling, using his arms to pull himself towards the toy. This was most successful when he had smooth surface floors to practice on. The baby mat seemed to create too much friction for him to pull himself forwards.

William let out a frustrated cry as the mat didn't let him pull himself forward as easily as the floor had the night before, just as Luke heard a thump and a just as frustrated cry coming from upstairs.

- _Luuuke_, Lorelai shouted, dragging out his name.

He knew that tone, he really knew that tone. That was her Luke-can-you-come-and-help-me tone. He wouldn't think too much of it, if he hadn't known that she was in the middle of packing up some stuff as she and William were going to stay at his apartment for the coming weeks, while Tom and his crew worked full-time on constructing what would become William's own room. He had already told her several times to pack light as his place wasn't all that big and certainly couldn't room all of her stuff. Of course Luke knew deep down that he should never count on Lorelai being able to pack light. Even if he hadn't heard the thump that had accompanied the cry, he'd known the strong probability that Lorelai was at that moment standing next to one or more larger bags or cardboard boxes. But even though he knew what she was likely to ask of him, he remained where he was and simply replied;

- What!?

- _Could you come and help me, please?_

- With what, he asked, refusing to acknowledge that he already knew what she needed help with.

- _This stupid box is too heavy_, she complained.

- That's because you packed too much, Luke pointed out, dryly, not moving from his spot on the floor.

- _I did not._

- If it's too heavy for you to be able to pick up, it's too much, he reasoned.

- _We're staying for a few weeks, Luke_, Lorelai argued. - _I'm gonna be needing more than just my toothbrush._

- It's less than five minutes away by foot, Luke reminded her. - It's not like you won't be able to come by and get something later.

- _That doesn't mean I should have to come by every single day._

Luke sighed and looked at William, who had forgotten his troubles with the mat and was instead staring, curiously at his father.

- _Eh_, the boy said.

- Let's go see what your mom's up to, Luke told his son, scooping him up from the floor.

- Bah, William cooed, grabbing Luke's loose collar with one hand, sticking the thumb of the other in his mouth.

Luke grabbed the washcloth and wiped away some drool that was covering the boy's chin. William had gotten in a significantly better mood since they had started using the gel. Luke had also noticed that the flesh that had been white a few days ago now bore a pink color, instead. Now the only white in William's mouth was the little corner of the tooth that was sticking out. The only sign left that the boy was teething, aside from the tooth itself, was the incessant puddle of drool gathering, either on William's own chin or on whatever he had his head leaned against.

Lorelai's bedroom looked a mess when Luke entered it, much like he'd expected it to look. Clothes were strewn everywhere, along with several bathroom articles. He spotted two larger cardboard boxes, plus a fully stuffed bag sitting over by William's crib. He sighed and shook his head at the sight. It looked more like she was packing for a longer vacation, not packing up some clothes and other necessities for staying over at his place.

- What's all this, he asked, raising his brows. - You don't need all of this.

- It's not all mine, Lorelai said, defensively. - One of the boxes and the bag over there is all William's.

- We're not possibly going to need all this for William, Luke argued, making Lorelai raise her brows.

- Need I remind you of the last time you said this, when you were just gonna babysit him?

- And do I need to point out how many things since then have become a permanent fixture at my place, he retorted, handing her the baby before opening the box she'd pointed out as William's.

The clothes she'd packed made sense. Although Luke had a couple of outfits lying at the apartment, it was nowhere near enough, especially not with how many clothes an infant went through a day. And even though he thought she'd gone a bit overboard with the amount of toys she'd packed, he could understand it to a degree, but the rest felt a bit overboard.

- I already have a changing table, he informed her.

- Not upstairs you don't, Lorelai pointed out. - I don't know about you, but I'm not interested in going downstairs everytime William needs a new diaper.

- I moved it upstairs last week.

- But what about your other customers, Lorelai objected.

- They got along fine without it for years, Luke said, dryly. - They won't miss it.

- How can you be so sure about that?

Luke didn't bother to answer her, instead he pulled the changing table and its additional equipment out of the box and raised his brows when he saw what she'd packed underneath it.

- Okay, you do realize Doose's market will be right down the street from us, right, he asked, pulling the pack of diapers out of the box, alongside some additional unnecessary items, placing them on the bed. - I also have several boxes of cereal, per your request, formula, dinner jars, talcum powder, butt cream and baby wipes.

The bag contained the rest of William's clothes, stuffed animals and books and an additional pack of diapers. Eliminating the diapers and the toys and stuffed animals that William either showed little or was losing interest towards, Luke managed to reduce the amount enough to fit it all neatly in one bag. Not sure what to expect in terms of what Lorelai had packed for herself, Luke opened the remaining box.

- Now, where do you expect to fit all these clothes, he asked her. - I only have the one closet.

- Only one closet, Lorelai asked in disbelief. - What about Jess' room?

- Jess had a dresser, Luke pointed out.

- Seriously? Just a dresser?

- It was all he needed, Luke shrugged.

- But where am I supposed to put all my clothes, Lorelai asked.

- You don't need to bring three weeks worth of clothes, Luke sighed. - I have a functioning washer and dryer, not to mention your house will be just five minutes away if there's any emergencies.

- You know, Lorelai told him as she handed William back to him. - Between the single bed and the no extra closet space, your place isn't exactly very lady friendly.

- It was a bachelor pad, it was never supposed to be very lady friendly, Luke deadpanned, taking a seat on her bed, while she began taking clothes out of the box. - But I bought a double two weeks ago and if you want, we can go look for another wardrobe tomorrow.

Lorelai stopped as she picked up one of several pairs of tight jeans she owned, raising her brows.

- What, he asked.

- Rachel lived with you for weeks, she pointed out. - You and Nicole were married for months and it never occurred to you to do this sooner?

- Not until now, he shrugged.

When Lorelai didn't respond in any way, Luke immediately wondered if he'd said something wrong, though he couldn't imagine what, but then as he was about to ask her if she was alright, he spotted the smile that was slowly creeping upon her face.

TBC


	108. Striped is not a flavor

AN: Ok, this is a short chapter, a small scene that with Lorelai staying with Luke now, demanded me to write it. It happens every now and then. Some dialogue had to be borrowed, I'm sorry, but it had to be done and it's been a while since I did it, so hopefully you'll forgive me doing it this one time. And, yay, I managed to get this done before the Halloween party tomorrow and the packing the day after. Who knows, maybe I can start early on the next chapter. I hope so, at least. As always, major props to Steph, my beta.

**tk-ane** - Aww, I hope you caught some sleep after writing that review.

**lukelover87** - Hm, I think I'm gonna keep you to your promise ;)

**Caffeination** - Luke's actually only been back for two weeks, almost three with this chapter. So it's not really that much time that has passed. We're still in the middle of summer between 5.01 and 5.02.

**smileyGGfan** - I think like that as well. I remember when my nieces both were babies, I was absolutely terrified of stepping on them or have other people step on them. Everyone else seemed so more relaxed about it, I just thought that any moment it could go wrong. And thinking about Luke and how protective it is, it just felt so right to project those thoughts and worries into his head.

**Jeremy Shane** - Slight missunderstanding, Luke only imagined Rory falling and cracking her head. It didn't happen. I know what TRL is, but we don't have it here.

**chants** - I would more say they will be switching back and forth between his and her place, like they did in the show. They are in the beginning of a relationship still, not the middle.

**Copop** - I know you didn't mean it like that and I understand and agree with you. Things are more hectic now, less time and energy for writing than before. It seems like every day I decide to write one of two things happens. 1) A friend I haven't hung out with in a long time asks if I want to do something or 2) My head is in a weird mood or I'm tired, so I can't concentrate...

* * *

It had started with the bed, the single bed she'd mercilessly teased him about for years. The bed she'd believed that even if he were to find someone, would follow him to the grave. She knew it would be gone before she entered the apartment, but it was another thing to actually see it. To see that it had, in fact, been replaced by a double. 

_- You'll bring her back to your place, lead her upstairs to the apartment door. You pause, gaze into her eyes... the stage is set, fate is waiting. You open the door, and she sees your teeny, tiny apartment... one room and no closet space and Jess' feet sticking up in the air 'cause you never did get rid of that body! _

_- Stop, please. _

_- And to make matters worse, she spots it; the single bed. _

_- What's wrong with a single bed? _

_- Never, ever date a guy who owns a single bed... It means he's not open to a commitment!_

She wondered if what she had said that day, so many moons ago, if Luke still remembered, if he was in his own way proving her wrong, or if he was being his practical self thinking they both would need a place to sleep. One could never be sure with him. But as the days passed, the more she began to believe it was the first out of the two. The bed turned out to just be the beginning.

When she'd had to suffer withdrawal pains going through her morning ritual without her usual morning coffee, the 'morning beast' (as Rory had appropriately named it) that every now and then seemed to take over her body, had let Luke know all about it when she'd tiredly stumbled into the diner, pausing only to place a kiss on William's temple before collapsing onto one of the stools. Impressively used to her antics, Luke had simply chuckled, filled her mug and served her breakfast, compelling her to pull him in for a kiss, over the counter, in the middle of the diner, before she picked William up and left for work. Her grumpy morning display had been completely erased from her mind until she'd spotted the brand new coffee maker standing on the kitchen counter when she came home.

Okay, so she had in her own way been asking for it, but Luke should know by now that unless she had coffee in her system she was not liable for any of her actions and anything she said was the decaffeination talking. He'd merely shrugged it off, as though it was nothing big, when she'd confronted him about it and instead taken her to go look for another wardrobe, despite having said again and again in the past that he hated shopping and department stores. Not only that, but he'd even assembled it as soon as they got back, Lorelai observing from the couch as his personal cheer section, as well as making sure William was far more than an arms length away from the many interesting small nails and screws that he was seemingly dying to put into his little mouth.

Next, Luke's modest CD collection had suddenly been extended to include the works of U2, Blondie, Sparks and after a minor debate on his costume habits; Bowie. That change had come from Luke's own initiative without any insinuation or suggestion from her. Luke seemed really set on making his home feel like her home as well, which was just such an opposite to when Rachel had been living there and Lorelai'd had to talk Luke into as much as clearing out a couple of drawers for her.

The latest surprise she found around nine o'clock Thursday evening as she went into the bathroom to get ready for bed, a wee bit early for her taste, but Luke had early deliveries in the morning and she saw no point in sneaking around and keeping quiet, when William would be wide awake around six anyway and she could use the extra sleep. She'd reached for her bathroom articles only to realize that only Luke's things remained on the shelf and all of hers had been moved to the additional shelf that had been added below the original. With everything else she'd found that week, something as simple as a shelf shouldn't surprise her, not really, but she couldn't help smiling as she retrieved her toothbrush and paste to brush her teeth. The grin remained on her face as she exited the bathroom and slipped into the bed, next to Luke, placing a kiss on his lips.

- You built me a shelf, she mumbled. - That's so nice.

- It's anything but nice, Luke protested. - I kept accidentally using your crazy toothpaste.

- There's nothing crazy about my toothpaste, Lorelai huffed, but kissed him one more time.

- It's cinnamon, Luke pointed out.

- So?

- I don't like cinnamon, he insisted.

- I've got about fifty times committed to memory that says you do, she pointed out.

- Not in my toothpaste I don't. I want a normal flavor.

- What in this world of possibilities would you call a 'normal flavor'?

- You know, Luke shrugged. - Striped.

- 'Striped' is not a flavor, Lorelai said, teasingly.

- It is in the toothpaste world, Luke mumbled.

- Hm, the toothpaste world, Lorelai chuckled. - That has to be the complete opposite to Willy Wonka Land. God, can you imagine a more boring world? Nothing but toothpaste... though if we slipped a Willy Wonka into it we'd probably get some fairly inventive creations in form of dental care... Instead of chewing gum producing whole meals we could have edible toothpastes in all kinds of flavors...

- You know, Luke mumbled. - You don't have to do this.

Lorelai frowned.

- Am I annoying you?

- No, I mean, going to bed early, Luke explained. - I _have_ to get up at four, you don't.

- Yeah, well, Lorelai shrugged. - I've heard through the grapevine that going to bed early is good for ya. Healthy even.

- Which means you plan to shy away from it by all means, Luke said, teasingly.

Lorelai playfully swatted him.

- I'll have you know, she informed him. - That as long as healthy doesn't come in the form of a vegetable, I'm game to try anything at least once.

- You know, cutting down on your coffee assumption can be considered healthy, Luke pointed out.

- Nice try, she grinned.

- Just saying, he replied in a slightly distant voice.

He was more than ready to go to sleep. She leaned over one more time, kissing him.

- Good night, she whispered.

- Night, Luke muttered in return, reaching out to turn off the light.

Lorelai let herself sink down, burying her head into the soft pillow, waiting for sleep to take her. Moments passed, probably minutes, but nothing happened. She was still wide awake. She shifted around in bed and tried to find a new comfortable position. Again she waited and nothing happened. Seconds ticked away... Seconds turned to minutes... It started to feel like she'd been lying there for hours. She shifted again, this time Luke did as well and she wondered if maybe she was keeping him up.

- _Luke_, she whispered.

No answer.

- Luke, she tried just a little louder.

Not even a reaction, no indication that he'd heard her at all. He was already in a deep, deep sleep. His breaths were even. Heavy.

Finally she got fed up with lying down, seeing as sleep wasn't going to happen anyway. She had never been good at going to bed early before, so why should she start now? Though she had a feeling Luke wouldn't wake up even if World War Three started happening around them, Lorelai still was careful as she slipped out from underneath the covers and crossed to the other side of the apartment, Jess' old room, where William's crib was located. He definitely had his father's talent in sleeping wherever and whenever, she decided. Though, then again it was like that with many babies before they slowly developed into sleep-deprived adults. She had the overwhelming urge to stroke his cheek or kiss the soft fuzz of hair that was growing on his soft, little head, but decided against it as she couldn't be completely sure he wouldn't wake up, so instead she moved away from the crib and into the kitchen.

Right then and there she cursed the fact that she'd let Luke talk her out of bringing too much stuff. With all the downsizing, the only books she'd brought were a couple of William's favorite baby books, which she had read about a billion times already and knew by heart. Luke wasn't exactly a book person, either, so she was lacking in things to do. She filled herself a water glass and took a sip from it, while trying to figure out how to pass the time until she knew she would be able to go to sleep. Finally she spotted a couple of booklets lying on one of the shelves; one broiler manual and one oven manual. She looked back and forth between the two, neither being really that appealing in terms of reading material, but when in need, right? Finally after about five minutes of consideration, she decided to go with the oven manual. She just had a thing for shiny objects.

TBC


	109. A direct approach

AN: I actually finished this chapter and had it betaed by Thursday, but with a sudden drastic fall in reviews, I wasn't too tempted to post it. I'm still not sure updating now is a good idea, but I guess I can't let it go a whole week without updating when I actually can help it. Let's hope this is just a freak coincidence and not people jumping ship... As always, many thanks to Steph. I have no idea what I'd do without you.

**thatsit** - I try to look to what would be natural for the characters to do and sometimes that means I have to use some of the elements introduced in the show. My adaptation of LL going to bed early was not a result of lack of imagination, but the logical conclusion that since Luke has early deliveries at least once a week and Lorelai is now living with him, it would only make sense that she tried to go to bed early for his sake as well. And the manual thing is just such a thing Lorelai would do, so I had to do it. Don't worry, I'm not all of a sudden copying the show.

**CrimsonScarz** - I can't say you're wrong, but I can't exactly say you're right, either (don't you love it when I'm being cryptic). Interperate it the way you want. You'll find out eventually, anyway.

**Jeremy Shane** - There's no specific update schedule I follow. It depends on how often I get the chance to write, really.

**Venni Venti** - Did you mean because of the time it takes for them to be delivered, or because they are being released wherever you are?

* * *

It wasn't that she'd forgotten about it, but with everything that had been going on the past week, it had conveniently managed to slip to the back of her mind. First with announcing to the town that William was in fact a Danes, thereby reawakening the town's gossiping interest in her lovelife. Then work had all of a sudden become madly time consuming, as just right after the weekend Lorelai had taken the Dragonfly's very first wedding reservation... to be taking place on Sunday of the same week. The family, despite having booked their venue a whole year ahead of the date in question, had lost it to one of the high society families up in Hartford, who had used every rotten trick in the book to get it for one of their social gatherings. Having seen it happen more than a few times growing up, Lorelai had very much sympathized with the family and in order to help save the day, she'd started pulling every string she knew in order to put together a decent outdoor wedding.

Luckily by Thursday evening, Lorelai had managed to acquire a tent, made arrangements with the florist to make some last minute changes to the family's order and talked the caterers into waving their silly clause of not doing events outside of Hartford, basically achieving to check off all the major items on the agenda less than 48 hours after the reservation had been made; which was nothing short of a miracle. Decorations had as promised, arrived promptly Friday morning and the flowers and cakes would be delivered by midday Saturday. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, a little too smooth to Lorelai's taste, which was why she would be heading back to the inn straight after dinner, to make sure this wasn't just a disaster in disguise.

In reality, she would've gladly missed dinner, not because of her father's indiscretion, as it didn't even cross her mind until the very moment she was standing in front of the door of judgment, as she'd dubbed it many moons ago, but because she had this nagging feeling that if she left before the decorations were done, everything would fall apart. The one good thing about this wedding was that it had given her a perfect opportunity to spend time with Rory, who'd gladly accepted the chance of earning some much needed pocket money.

Despite having insisted they'd make up for lost time, Rory's homecoming had come at an inopportune time. With Lorelai and William temporarily moving in with Luke, Rory had seen little point in staying at the house, especially when it would be crowded with construction workers, and she'd decided to stay with Jess for the time being. Luke had, of course, told her she was more than welcome to stay at the apartment as well, as there was always Jess' bed. But Rory had respectfully declined, confessing to Lorelai later on, that although she loved Luke and was happy for both him and Lorelai, she felt a bit uncomfortable with the idea of staying in a one bedroom apartment with nothing even close to resembling a wall to separate her from what essentially would be her mother and her boyfriend in bed together. Luckily, due to the wedding, Rory would be crashing at Lane's over the weekend, so mother and daughter would get plenty of opportunities to see one another.

Neither one of them had brought up Richard's mysterious lunch since last Friday. It had almost been like an unspoken agreement not to talk about it, as nothing anyone of them could say would make things better. Only one person would be able to shed light on the matter, but neither one of them were keen on confronting the man. Lorelai had in ways decided to continue the same subtle approach she'd started the week before, but in a more controlled, less shocked manner. In many ways, she was still the little girl who had once upon a time looked up at her father with awe in her eyes, believing he could never do anything wrong, the girl she'd been before the rebelling, the drinking, the sex, the getting pregnant at sixteen. She hadn't been all that close to him, growing up, but in this unexplainable way, she'd still idolized the man as if they had been. She needed him to not be the kind of man she now sadly was beginning to believe him to be.

- Hey, dad, she asked, casually at dinner. - You're big on restaurants, right?

She hoped that if she were to let little hints slip, give him subtle opportunities to come clean, that he would. That he'd casually mention something that would be a perfectly good explanation and prove her suspicions wrong. Lorelai usually hated to be wrong about anything, but she wouldn't mind to be wrong just this once.

Richard didn't seem to think much of her question or find it even remotely strange.

- I wouldn't say I am that much of a fan, exactly, he shrugged. - Mostly I enjoy eating in a lot more than going out. The food is usually better and I enjoy the company more often than not.

- I meant, you go out a lot, she elaborated.

- For whenever I'm meeting with clients, Richard explained, then added. - And taking your mother out every once in a while.

- Ever been to Adele's?

She looked to see if the name of the restaurant would trigger some reaction, some flinch, some questioning, suspicious look, but there was nothing. If Lorelai had seen what she'd thought she'd seen, he was good at concealing it.

- I've taken a few clients there, occasionally, he nodded, calmly.

- Why are you so curious, Emily wanted to know.

Having no time to think of a good excuse to why she wanted to know about her father's restaurant habits, Lorelai said the first thing that came to mind.

- Well, there's this magazine that wants to do a small piece on the inn, she explained, then quickly added. - Not _just_ the inn. It'll be more part of a bigger article. But they wanted me to do a small interview.

- Oh, that's wonderful, Emily beamed.

- Well, then Adele's is a most suitable choice, Richard told her, approvingly. - The food is good and the service is excellent and it doesn't get to loud.

- But surely if they're doing a story on the inn, wouldn't it make sense to meet there, Emily asked. - Did you say you have a restaurant there as well?

- Yeah, well, that's reporters for ya, Lorelai shrugged, hoping Emily would drop that minor detail, which it seemed like she did.

- How long have you been open, now, Emily wanted to know, instead.

- Um, four weeks now, I think, Lorelai said, counting back before confirming. - Yeah, four weeks.

- Well, isn't that nice, Emily commented, her voice already back to carrying the usual haughty, suspicious tone. - Awfully soon to have a feature article coming out about it.

- Well, it's not just about the Dragonfly, Lorelai clarified. - It's more about the up-and-coming establishments all around Connecticut. The hidden gems, that kinda thing. I think they were going to feature ten establishments; mostly inns and B&Bs.

She ransacked her mind the best she could, trying to remember some of the things Rachel had mentioned during lunch.

- Still, it's very impressive that your establishment made the list so soon, Emily pointed out.

- A friend of mine's a freelance photographer, Lorelai explained. - Her boss came over some pictures she'd taken of the Dragonfly and wanted to do a piece on it.

- Well, I think it's wonderful that you're getting this kind of exposure so soon, Richard said, cutting in. - I am proud of you.

- Thanks dad, she replied, concealing her lack of enthusiasm the best she could.

- This is a cause for celebration, Richard continued, turning to his wife. - Don't you agree, Emily?

- Yes, Emily shrugged. - I suppose it is.

If this had been any other time, Lorelai might have found some reassurance in her father's sudden support of her, the willingness in displaying pride in her accomplishments, but with the circumstances the gesture was little more than bittersweet.

- Well, Emily continued. - I suppose we could go out for dessert, but we're hardly dressed for going out. At least Lorelai isn't.

Normally Lorelai would've felt the need to defend herself, but right now, despite the criticism, her suspicions towards Richard was making her feel a solidarity with her mother. It was probably the one and only time she would feel that way with her mother, but right now that was all that mattered.

- We don't have to go anywhere, Rory told her grandparents.

- Yeah, Lorelai agreed. - I have these wedding preparations that I have to oversee at the inn, so I can't stay too long, anyway.

- We should at least toast, Richard insisted. - I am pretty sure we have a bottle of champagne somewhere.

- I think it's in the liquor cabinet downstairs, Emily said.

- I'll go have a look, Richard decided.

He vanished out of the livingroom, in direction of the basement.

- I think I'm gonna go help him, Lorelai suggested

Emily raised her brows at this statement. Rory did, too, although she knew what Lorelai intended to do.

- Anything to speed up the process, Lorelai shrugged, heading after her father.

Richard, who was already searching through the cabinet, was surprised to see her come down the stairs.

- It's nice of you to come and help me, Lorelai, he began. - But I'm almost...

- Are you cheating on mom, Lorelai interrupted.

She hadn't planned to be so blunt with him. It'd just slipped out. The minute she'd said it, Richard had stopped what he was doing and stared, in shock, at his daughter, blinking, as if he couldn't believe she'd said what he thought she'd said.

- Are you cheating on mom, she repeated.

The second time, it was easier to say it, although with the way he was staring at her, she was having some very strong flashbacks to her childhood when her father had been confronting _her_ on one of _her_ many indiscretions.

- Lorelai, Richard said, in shock. - I can not imagine what would compel you to say such a thing.

This was usually the tone that would make her cringe, make her feel like she was two feet tall and he was a giant, but this time Lorelai didn't budge.

- Well, she said in an even tone. - Are you?

- I most certainly am _not_, Richard stated, outraged. - I've never heard anything more ridiculous, or more insulting in my entire life.

- It's not ridiculous, Lorelai insisted. - I _saw_ you, dad. Last week. At Adele's.

Her words seemed to have finally hit him in the right place. Instead of yelling at her or throw her out of the house, as he'd been close to doing just seconds before, Richard got a serious, more worried look on his face. A chill went down Lorelai's spine.

- It's not what you think, he told her in a more calm voice.

These were not the words she wanted to hear. These words were not leading towards a reasonable explanation. Ninety-five per cent of the time these words were leading towards an admission of guilt. They bode as bad for explanations as 'we need to talk' did for relationships. In other words, this was heading somewhere bad.

- If you're about to tell me that was just a business lunch I saw, she told him, her own voice calmer, but much less steady. - Then I'm not gonna buy it. Not when you've time and time again lashed out at me for the way I interact with my contacts.

- No, it was not a business lunch, Richard assured her, though it didn't feel all that assuring to her. - That woman you saw was Pennilyn Lott.

The name did more than just ring a bell. It was ringing an entire church tower with a non-broken version of the Liberty Bell thrown into the mix. She didn't even have to think to know who she was.

- Pennilyn Lott, Lorelai repeated. - Your ex girlfriend?

- Well, ex fiancé, if we're to be frank, Richard corrected her.

Lorelai looked at her father in shock, unable to comment.

- We have lunch together, Richard continued. - Once a year, around this time, to catch up.

- _Richard..?_

Lorelai snapped out of it and turned her head in time to see her mother staring at the two of them. Her eyes were wide open, her mouth open and she seemed to be frozen at the spot. Only once before had she ever seen her mother look so defeated, so small; the day she had announced her pregnancy to her parents. It was probably bad of her, but Lorelai couldn't help but wonder how long, exactly, Emily had been standing there and how much of the conversation she'd heard. Her mother seemed to be frozen to her spot and neither her or her father were saying a word. It was the calm before the storm.

- I, ah, um, Lorelai muttered, uncomfortably. - I should go... I have to get back... for the wedding and... well... everything.

Neither Emily or Richard seemed to have heard her, but Lorelai didn't bother to repeat herself. Instead she calmly made her way up the stairs, past her mother and into the livingroom. Almost on auto-pilot, she went upstairs to wake William from his nap. The boy made only mild objections from being lifted out of his comfy sleep, but settled his head against her shoulder and drowsed off again almost immediately. By the time she went back downstairs, voices had started to come from the basement.

- _Emily, please. Don't make this more dramatic than it has to be._

- _More dramatic..? Pennilyn Lott, Richard! It's Pennilyn Lott, for Christ sake! Pennilyn Lott!_

Lorelai had no idea how she had made it back to Stars Hollow. She couldn't remember if Rory had offered to drive, or if she had remembered to put her own seat belt on or anything else. One minute she'd been exiting the Gilmore Mansion, the next she was sitting in the driver's seat outside the diner. Rory was already outside, holding William in her arms, opening the car door for her. She stumbled out of the car, letting her muscle memory tell her what to do to get inside. She plopped onto her regular stool, dropped her purse onto the counter, like she usually did, but other than that she sat down in a state of shock.

Luke looked at her with a worried expression.

- Are you okay, he asked.

- I think I just broke up my parents...

TBC


	110. Assuming makes an ass out of who, again?

AN: Thank you to everyone who hit the review button to boost my spirit, it definitely helped and if I'd gotten hold of my beta sooner, I would've proven it more quickly, but that's no one's fault. It's less than a week later, which is good, especially when I'm trying to do 10 hour shifts at work to work up a Christmas Holiday for next month. Steph, as always, thank you for being my trusty beta and not getting sick of me :)

**iheartnick** - Thank you for the great comments and questions. I have two nieces who are a great inspiration to me. Other sources of inspiration includes childhood stories about my sisters and myself, my friends' younger siblings, movies, and consulting a couple of websites to make sure I make the development happen in somewhat of a normal pace. I also try to predict with the environment on how William would be likely to react and develop and people seems to like it so far :)

**cywen69** - I'm sorry you had to suffer for the masses, but I didn't withold the chapter more than two days, because I would never stop updating because of a lull. I understand that ER isn't the most exciting for most readers. And they aren't really of that much importance for me either, but this was something I couldn't ignore, plus it was done from Lorelai's point of view and it's about how this affects Lorelai, Luke and William's lives.

**smileyGGfan** - I see the split of ER in season 4 to be an accumulation of things, but I agree with you that it wasn't explained properly. They were already on the outs with one another, but I think if ASP had changed the order, and let the more major ordeal; the Pennilyn Lott lunches, come last, then we would all buy the split without any hesitation.

**Well** - I would disagree with nothing happening. I get what you mean, in terms of the other storylines I've had to introduce, but I would honestly say LL've shown a lot of growth in the short time that has passed since Maine, especially due to the circumstances. But hopefully I will get the doubters with me eventually as the future chapters are posted. I'm looking at a natural development, not a quick fix that isn't really a fix.

* * *

Lorelai let a big yawn out for the umpteenth time that day and it wasn't even eleven o'clock, yet, not even lunch time. Every single inch of her wanted nothing more than to head back to Luke's and crawl into bed. The six or seven cups of coffee she'd had so far didn't seem to be doing its thing at all. Damn her high tolerance for the beverage. She squinted her eyes shut and shook her head, hoping it would help her wake up. When she opened them again, she caught Sookie looking at her with her brows raised.

- Sorry, she apologized. - Didn't get much sleep last night.

- Seems like you're not the only one, Sookie pointed out, referring to Luke, who'd been by earlier that morning to fix the podium that had collapsed.

- Yeah, Lorelai mumbled, not noticing the look Sookie was giving her. - I kinda kept him up all night.

- I'm sure you did, Sookie smirked.

- _Sookie_, Lorelai exclaimed. - I was upset, so he stayed up to comfort me.

- Oh, is that what we're calling it, now?

- Get your mind out of the gutters, Lorelai chastised. - There was no sex.

- No sex? Why no sex, Sookie asked with concern, her eyes suddenly widening. - Are you fighting? Please tell me you're not fighting.

- I just told you he stayed up all night comforting me, so of course we're not fighting, Lorelai said, shaking her head. - Honestly, would Luke have done that if we'd been fighting?

- Yes, Sookie said, matter-of-factly.

- Okay, Lorelai agreed. - Luke would do that, but the point is we're not fighting.

- Then, what's wrong, Sookie wanted to know. - I mean, you guys have a kid together, so we know the equipment's working.

- Why this sudden unhealthy interest in my sexlife?

- I just wanna make sure everything's alright with you two, Sookie shrugged.

- Why wouldn't it be, Lorelai asked, confused. - Does anything indicate that we might not be fine?

- Well, first of all the no sex, Sookie pointed out.

- Enough with the sex.

- And secondly, there's been some talk around town.

- Isn't there always, Lorelai muttered, mostly to herself.

- ...and there are some things that remain a bit unclear with your story, Sookie continued, either ignoring Lorelai's comment, or she simply hadn't heard it.

- Still, Lorelai asked, surprised. - One would think with the questions Babette and Miss Patty were bombarding me and Luke with, you'd all have a diagram description of the events.

- Not really, Sookie shrugged. - I mean, we got the gist of it all. That William came from a one-night-stand between you and Luke, that Luke didn't know William was his right away and found out when William was a couple of months old. And that you're now together, not just as co-parents, but _together_ together, which of course, I've known for a while, now. But neither one of you said anything about why Luke stayed in Maine for so long, what really had happened. I mean, you put on a good show when you want people to think you're fine, but you forget that I've known you long enough to see when you're really not fine, and honey? You were not just fine during those weeks.

Lorelai sighed. After enduring the never ending town meeting and all those questions, she'd decided to let Sookie in on it all right away, when she got back. First of all because if Sookie found out she was the last to know about it, she'd never let it go. And secondly, she just wanted to get it all over with in the one day, instead of constantly be bombarded with new questions. Sookie did, of course, get a more detailed version of the story, but even there, Lorelai had decided to hold some things back.

- Well, she sighed. - Luke and I fought right before he left. I'd finally decided to tell him about William and he didn't take it so well. I mean, the daddy-aspect of it all, he handled well, but he was angry with me for not telling him sooner, and I can't say I blame him. So when Liz called and needed his help, he took the opportunity to get away and cool down a bit.

- And now that he's back, how are you two now, Sookie wanted to know.

- We're good, Lorelai insisted. - It feels good, at least.

- Except the no sex, Sookie pointed out.

Lorelai gave her friend a look.

- Well, Sookie said. - Have you done it since William happened?

- Yes, Lorelai said, pointedly.

- After Luke came back from Maine?

- Well, Lorelai sighed. - Not exactly.

- And what does 'not exactly' entail, Sookie wanted to know.

- There was one time we almost... but William woke up and kinda spoiled the moment.

- Once, Sookie said, dryly. - In the three weeks he's been back, where you've practically slept in the same bed every night, you've only come close once?

- Well, Lorelai shrugged. - We've had issues.

- And these issues are out in the open, now, Sookie asked. - I mean, you've talked?

- Well.., Lorelai said, about to object at first, then changing her mind. - No...

- You haven't..?

- Not really, Lorelai said, shaking her head. - No.

- So Luke went from upset with you to all of a sudden being fine with it, without you guys talking it over?

- Well, when you put it like that...

With their interaction the past week, the many sweet steps Luke had taken to make his apartment more homely for her, Lorelai had come to believe they were in a good place with one another, but now she wasn't as sure anymore. It felt more like they had buried their issues instead of getting them out into the open and she had a feeling things like that would one day maybe ruin the relationship she and Luke were trying to build.

Sookie seemed to have noticed this sudden change of mood in her friend as a flash of guilt seemed to come over her.

- I'm sorry, she apologized. - I'm sure it's alright.

- It's okay, Lorelai insisted. - You're right. We really should talk things through.

- But you're okay, though, Sookie asked. - I didn't bum you out, or anything?

- I'm fine, Lorelai nodded.

- You sure, Sookie asked, not completely believing her. - You're not just saying it?

- I'm fine. Don't worry about it.

- Okay.

TBC


	111. I avoid, you avoid

AN: Okay, so first of all I think everyone here should wish Steph, my beta, a happy birthday, which was this Saturday. I think you'll all be happy to see me once again updating before a week is up. I can't guarantee I'll be able to keep up the pace, because I have to work extra, so I can get Christmas off from work, but I will try, because I love writing this story. Oh and a happy belated birthday to my sweet little niece who turned two a couple of days ago.

**smileyGGfan** - Yay on you reviewing the day I post, too :) I agree with you on the sex talk scenes, they crack me up. Sookie really does have an unhealthy interest in Lorelai's sex life... lol. Oh, ouch, season six, low blow. Anything lower would be to say season seven, but that would just be mean... lol

**remoob1513** - In time, in time.

**Caffeination** - Calm down, there was a point to it all, all the little so-called detours were there for a reason... And I hate LL not talking as much as the next person. I'm not all intrigues and fillers, you know... lol

**Severien** - Sookie seemed like the ultimate voice of reason here. She can go to the levels and boundaries Rory doesn't want to cross.

**Copop** - lol... I love surprising you lot :)

* * *

It had been a long day in every single meaning of the word. Although the bride and groom were as nice as they came and miraculously both came with matching sets of friendly, patient, not to mention helpful relatives; which Lorelai really found too good to be true... planning and executing a wedding in only a matter of days from the day of booking to the day of all days was a lot of work, even in best case scenarios, which this one definitely was. Her itinerary had been full from morning to evening, only pausing for much needed coffee breaks and that one time to watch Luke in action as he fixed the podium, while relishing having a few precious moments holding her baby boy. Normally she and Luke would have alternated between taking William for the day, but with the wedding, they had temporarily agreed for him to stay with Luke, so that she'd stand a chance of getting everything done on time. With the exception of bringing William with her to Friday Night Dinner and the few minutes it'd taken Luke to fix the podium, Lorelai had practically not seen her son in days. By the time she'd gotten home from work, the boy had already gone to sleep and in the morning she'd barely had time to eat breakfast, let alone do much more than kiss her baby good morning before vanishing out the door.

That was probably one of the main reasons why this day had felt so excruciatingly long. She was longing to go home and spend some proper time with her baby boy. It felt like she hadn't done it in forever and she made a promise to herself that as soon as this wedding was over and done with, to take the day off and spend it all with William.

And although William was one of the main things on her mind, he wasn't the only one. No matter how much she tried to focus on the task at hand, Lorelai simply couldn't seem to shake the feeling she'd gotten from her little talk with Sookie. She'd been too busy taking everything Luke had done for her as signs that everything was just fine. Of course it had been awkward at first when he'd returned. It was only natural, after all. But then they had begun interacting a little easier with one another as the days passed and when they had ended up in that heated embrace, Lorelai had let herself believe that everything was okay between them. Then when Luke had stood up and defended not only their family bond, but their actual relationship in front of the entire town, she had gotten more confident in that belief. Still, Sookie's words hung over her like the sword of Damocles. A broken leg that remained uncasted would in fact heal by itself, but most likely it would be too twisted and turned to be of any use for the person who owned it. The same could probably be applied to many things, amongst them; relationships. If problems remained ignored instead of treated, chances were they would only grow bigger until they were like Emily and Richard; just waiting for the final blow before finally falling apart.

It was the last thought that kept her from simply crawling into bed and going to sleep, although the thought was deliciously tempting. She had ended up working late again and like the other days since the wedding reservation had been made, William was already sound asleep in his crib. She could tell by the way the apartment smelled that Luke had made dinner, but had cleared the table before she'd finally made it home. Luckily she was a big fan of leftovers, which Luke knew all too well. The man, himself, was watching what looked to be the end of a baseball game, the commentary barely being audible with Luke having turned the volume down to a bare minimum. A quiet chuckle left her lips, as she remembered the other times she'd found him like this and how she still hadn't been able to convince him that a few notches up on the volume would not wake their son up from his very deep sleep.

Not knowing whether it was the beginning of the game, she knew this was definitely no time to bring up any serious conversation. However, she didn't want to be this person who chickened out of things, just because the timing was bad. She simply had no desire to become her mother. Deciding not to disturb her man, she grabbed a few items from her wardrobe and disappeared into the bathroom. She wouldn't say her work clothes were uncomfortable in any way, but nothing beat a pair of loose fitting jogging pants, an old worn t-shirt and no bra. She immediately felt relaxed and comfortable. Brushing through her hair, she tied it up in a loose ponytail before gathering up her work clothes and dropping them into the laundry basked on the way out. The game was still on when she came out and she gently tip toed across the room to join him. When she sat down, pulling her bare feet up underneath her, Luke instinctively put his arm around her shoulder, allowing her to snuggle up against him. He took his eyes off the game for a moment and Lorelai planted a quick peck on his lips.

- Hey, he said in his usual gruff voice, the kind that caused shivers to run down her spine.

- Hey, she murmured, her head already resting against his shoulder. - Everything went alright, here?

- He was sound asleep by seven thirty, Luke informed her.

Ever since the teething debacle had started, it had been a bit difficult to get William back to his usual sleep schedule, but it seemed to be falling back into place, again. Sighing, she gently began to caress the arm that Luke had draped over her shoulders and they watched the game in complete silence. Lorelai couldn't say she was much into sports. Sure there had been times in high school where she'd watched the guys play football, but that had been more about checking the guys out more than actually following the game. It was somewhat of a mystery why grown, very straight men, like Luke would find any enjoyment in watching other men throw, kick or hit balls in various shapes and sizes. Determined to get some more insight, she asked him;

- So, what exactly _is_ this game all about?

Luke chuckled, his entire body rumbling from the laughter, and he began to explain the various rules of baseball. Lorelai couldn't say much of it was making any sense to her, but she loved hearing him talk. The fact that she would more likely remain as clueless about baseball and sports in general, didn't really matter so terribly. The point was that this was something that really mattered to Luke. She guessed he'd probably played catch with his dad when he was little. Many of the things that really mattered to Luke had in one way or another, something to do with his dad. She could picture Luke as a boy playing catch with his father, who Lorelai pictured to be a middle-aged man with a friendly smile. It was just as easy as picturing Luke playing catch with William in just a few short years. For Luke's sake, she hoped William would take to sports.

The rest of the game seemed to pass by quickly while she daydreamed. When the final score was displayed on the screen, Luke turned the tv off and got up, while Lorelai remained sitting. He walked over to the kitchen, where he retrieved two glasses from the kitchen cupboard, filling both of them with water from the tap. Lorelai followed his movement with her eyes, letting them take in his entire figure. He was wearing a loose t-shirt and jeans, but they both complimented him with showing off his very best features. Her eyes then moved to the crib standing in the background, where, from her angle, it was impossible to make out the shape of the boy who was sleeping in it. It really wasn't the time to bring it up at all, but Lorelai simply decided to risk the comfortable silence and their good tone.

- You do know that I never wanted to keep him from you, right, she asked him.

Luke seemed surprised by her suddenly bringing it up, but it didn't seem to be affecting his mood or bring up any residue of anger or hurt.

- I know, he replied.

His voice was calm and balanced and he hadn't even taken a single moment to 'gather himself'. He honestly seemed to be just fine.

- Are you sure, she asked, a bit confounded by his calmness. - I mean, you never did ask me why, demand an explanation or anything, but I want you to know that you can, you know?

- Where's this coming from, Luke wondered, obviously more curious why she was bringing it up, than to ask her anything.

- We never talked about it, Lorelai explained. - We said we would, but then we got so busy with everything else that we forgot. Or we avoided it. I'm not really sure which it was. The point is it was avoided, or forgotten. And I think, you and me; we're avoiders. We try as much as we can to stay away from things that would surely cause a major conflict. I don't know where you get it from, but for me it runs in the family. My parents? Big avoiders. Major. If there was an Olympic medal for shoving things underneath the rug, they would have won the gold. And when their issues do eventually catch up with them... well, you heard all about it last night. The point is; I don't want to be my parents. I want us to talk things out and not push it aside because it may get uncomfortable.

Lorelai took a deep breath and looked at Luke.

- I don't want us to become my parents. I want us to work and I want to start with getting everything out and into the open.

It had to be the exhaustion, or maybe some residue from the emotional rollercoaster from the previous night, because before she knew it, there were streaks of tears running down her cheek. She brushed them aside with her thumb. Luke looked worried.

- I'm okay, she insisted, continuing to wipe the tears away.

It felt embarrassing, because Luke was the one who was supposed to be upset. This was supposed to be about giving him the closure he would need, yet, she was crying, blubbering, even.

- Stupid tears, she laughed, shaking her head, while trying to regain control over her own body.

Luke had placed both water glasses on the kitchen table before wrapping both strong arms around her, kissing her temple.

- I'm okay, she repeated. - Really. I am. I may have to have a little chat with my tearducts, but I'm fine.

- I know, Luke murmured.

He kissed her temple again and rubbed her back, soothingly. Slowly the stream of tears lessened and this turned from a soothing hug to two people embracing one another because they cared about each other.

- Remind me not to ever again take a wedding reservation for less than two weeks in advance, she murmured.

Luke chuckled as Lorelai let out a monster of a yawn.

- Go to bed, he told her. - I'll join you in five minutes.

- M'kay, Lorelai mumbled, already close to dozing off right there and then.

The pillow had never felt as soft and inviting as it did at that moment. Lorelai was pretty sure that if she let herself, she'd fall asleep right away. But she wanted to wait for Luke. As promised he was in and out of the bathroom in a matter of five minutes. He slipped under the covers on the left side, turned the lights off before leaning over, planting a kiss on her lips before settling down on his own side.

- I'm not angry, Luke suddenly said.

Lorelai had been halfway to lala-land, but reopened her eyes. Although it was dark and her eyes were still used to the light and thereby had trouble seeing him, she gazed over to where she knew he was lying.

- I was at first, but I'm not anymore, he continued. - I'm not gonna say that I agree with you keeping William a secret from me, because I don't. And when I went to Maine, I couldn't understand why you did it. But I know, probably better than anyone that you haven't had it easy, and while it wasn't right to do what you did, I can forgive you and I can understand.

- I wanted to include you, Lorelai told him.

- I know, Luke replied, then quietly added. - ...you did.

TBC


	112. The Morning Beast

AN: First off, it's the 25th, which means this story's now been up for 19 months, which is mindboggling for me to say the least, but it still has a strong hold on me, which means we should expect it to continue for many more months. And, happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate it. We don't have a tradition for it here in Norway, hence I wouldn't have known about it if Fanlib hadn't mentioned that Thanksgiving was now. Hope you guys are enjoying the holiday and the turkey. Unless you're tofurkey fans, lol, if so then enjoy that. And as always, big props for my beta, Steph.

**cywen69** - You're entitled to your opinion, but I'm gonna point out that it differs from mine, especially not considering where the story's taken him. Luke was initially angry, but in the time he's known, he's little by little come to terms with it. Like I wrote, he doesn't agree with it, but he has forgiven her and he's putting it behind him. Right or wrong, what's done is done and it will not do any of them any good to hold a grudge.

**smileyGGfan** - I'm glad you like the baseball scene, it was one of my favorite things to write in that chapter, just to have something so prefectly ordinary as sitting in front of some game, her taking an interest in something that matters to him. And I think that chapter was kind of a 'see, ASP, this is what you _could_ have done in season 6, a nice mature talk'.

**Copop** - Sorry to disappoint you, but Luke was finished, after all, why would I all of a sudden resume the talk in the next chapter? It makes no sense.

* * *

It was just one of those mornings that really did a number on your head. When Lorelai felt a soft, but heavy bundle land on top of her with a thump while she was still in the process of waking up, not only did her body try to convince her that her brain had morphed into some kind of spongy material, but all her muscles felt rubbery, as though she was expected to take over a vacant spot in the Fantastic Four. Of course, her maternal instinct kicked in almost immediately and told her soon enough that this very lively bundle lying on her chest was her son, which Luke had just dumped on top of her. Well, the Luke part of the equation was only added moments after she finally opened her eyes and spotted her favorite diner proprietor watching the two of them. William, who had lately been more of a daddy's boy than anything else, paid in that moment, little to no attention to his father. It was very obvious that the boy had sensed her absence in the last couple of days and was missing her.

- Amah, William squealed and covered her right cheek with a sloppy wet kiss, before burying his head in the nook of her neck, rubbing his eyes with his free hand.

A lump immediately decided to form in her throat. Of course it was quite possible that William's distinct phrasing had been a mere coincidence and that it would be weeks or even months before he'd properly begin to call her 'mama', but it was far too early in the waking up process for her to be thinking rationally. She propped herself up to a sitting position, making sure she was sitting steadily before hugging her beautiful baby boy, kissing his temple. The infant stuck his left thumb in his mouth and used his right to grab onto his mother's attire, which happened to be one of Luke's old flannel shirts that Lorelai had elegantly 'rescued' from the back of his closet.

- See, now I know why William's been favoring you lately, she muttered, yawning, hinting to her little stunt the night before.

She wouldn't call it stealing as Luke had been there to witness the whole thing from beginning to end and he had not uttered a single complaint. Well, he had pointed out that she did have her very own wardrobe containing her own clothes, but unless he commented on her actually taking his shirt, it did not count as a complaint. After all, he'd just been stating the facts.

- Yes, because our son has a flannel fetish, Luke deadpanned.

- Who knows. He might be more like his daddy than we originally thought, Lorelai teased while struggling to keep her eyes open.

A huge yawn, the kind that took over every single muscle in your face, stretching them further than they probably were meant to be stretched making sure she would feel it for hours later, escaped her lips and Lorelai rubbed her eyes with her left hand, while holding onto William with her right.

- God, why did you have to wake me up so early, she complained.

- You told me to, Luke reminded her. - You said, and I quote; _I don't care how tired or whiny I'll be, or what kind of threats I will make. Just make sure I get up when William does_.

Even with her bordering on falling asleep again, Lorelai could recall the little conversation they'd had the night before. Luke was already in bed by the time she got home, but he hadn't yet fallen asleep, nor had he turned the light off, either, probably because he'd heard her come up the stairs or something. It had been late, later than Luke's usual bedtime, which made Lorelai think that he'd been waiting up for her. All the way through getting ready for bed, from her flannel theft, all through brushing her teeth, she'd whined about her day never ending and how exhausted she was. Luke had pointed out that she didn't have to get up early the next day, that she could sleep in. She had objected to it, as she had pretty much been cheated out of seeing William for most of the previous week and therefore wanted to spend the entire next day with him, from beginning to end. She had made Luke promise that no matter what, he would wake her up the next morning, threatening to come up with something worse than her Louis Armstrong voice and baby talk combined if he didn't.

- Now, William was actually up a good hour ago, Luke admitted. - But you looked like you really could use a few more minutes of sleep and I figured you wouldn't miss much if I changed, clothed and fed him before waking you.

Secretly Lorelai wanted to throw her arms around him and kiss him for the extra minutes of sleep, but being the impossible woman she was, she wasn't ready to admit that. Instead she scowled at him for not sticking to his original promise of waking her up when William did. It didn't seem to affect or upset him, though. Most likely he had anticipated it, or he knew that deep inside she was grateful.

- Do you want me to watch him while you go shower and get ready, he asked.

- Now, see, Lorelai complained. - I could've done that an hour ago, while you fed him. That's fifteen minutes plus I don't get to spend with my son, today.

- Or, Luke responded. - I could have woken you up an hour ago, like I'd promised, then gone downstairs and helped Ceasar with opening the diner, like I promised _him_ I would when he asked me yesterday, while you got William changed, clothed and fed and I'd still be watching him while you showered, only you'd be far more tired.

She glared at him. It was always annoying when the other half in an argument was right, but it was especially annoying when you were too tired to argue against it. William, who had been the whole time observing his parents' little semi-argument from the comfort of his mother's arms let out a sound that sounded a lot like a car starting up, but that she decided at that moment to interpret as being him attempting a growl on her behalf.

- See, he's on my side, Lorelai insisted.

Luke rolled his eyes as he picked their son up.

- Go shower, he told her. - Otherwise the person you can blame for missing anymore time with William will be yourself.

He vanished down the stairs and Lorelai headed in the direction of the bathroom. She ended up only using ten of the fifteen minutes she'd told Luke she would on the shower, but the minutes she'd gained from shortening her showers ended up being used to brushing out some very stubborn knots in her hair, while cursing herself for trying out that new shampoo and conditioner with the cute name that had arrived with the Saturday mail. Her hair might smell like citrus, now, but it had become almost unmanageable. _Note to self, warn Rory not to try it._

She stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped in her bathrobe, intending to go search her wardrobe for something to wear, when she caught sight of a plate with French toast, bacon, pancakes and eggs, notably put on the side and not on top of the pancakes, like had been known to happen in the past. Her man was learning. There was also a pot of freshly brewed coffee and a mug already filled up. The smell of it all made her stomach growl. Deciding getting dressed could be postponed, she simply tied the bathrobe tighter and sat down at the table. Just as she put the last piece of the delicious meal in her mouth, Luke came up, carrying William in his arms.

- Everything to your liking, he asked, placing William in the high chair across the table.

The baby instantly got an eye for the large coffee pot standing in the middle of the table and instantly began reaching for it. Although it was far out of reach for the boy, Luke moved the pot further toward Lorelai, away from their son, much to the boy's loud objections. Lorelai swallowed the piece of food in her mouth.

- Heavenly, she gushed. - You're too good for me.

- I try to be, Luke replied, leaning in for a kiss. - By the way, I like the outfit.

Lorelai looked down and saw that her bathrobe had slipped enough to show off her entire right thigh.

- Hmm, she said. - Would you love it as much if I walked through Stars Hollow in it?

- Probably not, Luke replied in a guttural growl.

- Possessive aren't we, she teased him. - I like it.

She pulled him in for another kiss, pulling on his bottom lip with her teeth.

- By the way, she continued. - I'm sorry for snapping at you, earlier. I sometimes get very mean when I have to get up early and don't immediately start chugging coffee, more so if someone wakes me, no matter if I asked them to or not. Rory calls it the 'morning beast'.

- You've been here for a week, remember, Luke reminded her. - And then there were the weeks I stayed with you at your house. Trust me, I've already been introduced to the 'beast'.

- Hm, Lorelai muttered, raising her brows. - I'm not sure if I should feel relieved or be insulted by that statement. Are you by any means insinuating I'm difficult to live with?

- Lorelai, you're the Webster's definition of difficult, Luke pointed out.

- Flatter a girl, why don't ya, Lorelai scolded.

Luke chuckled.

- If I wanted easy, I'd be looking in a different direction, he told her. - But let me ask you one thing; do you see me looking?

If Lorelai hadn't lost her ability of speech in that moment, she most definitely would've made a joke about how Luke had just made a compliment out of an insult.

- So what do you have planned for your day off, Luke asked her, changing the subject.

- Right now spending the day with William is the only specific thing on my agenda, Lorelai replied. - But I'm thinking of possibly taking him with me to go see Rory in New Haven. This whole seeing each other while we worked on the wedding didn't exactly go as well as we'd planned, so we still need some quality time together. Plus William is beginning to outgrow some of his clothes, so I'm not excluding shopping as a possible excursion.

- What time do you think you'll be back?

- I don't know, Lorelai shrugged. - I haven't really been giving it much thought. Why?

- Well, I was thinking, Luke shrugged. - That maybe I could take you out tonight.

- Take me out, Lorelai asked, intrigued. - Where to?

- Well, you and William, Luke corrected. - ...and Rory, if she wants to come, too. We could make it a family dinner. And if she wanted, she could always bring Jess along.

- This date is beginning to feel a little bit too crowded for my taste, Lorelai said, teasingly. - But I appreciate your offering to include everyone. However, maybe we could save the double date for some other time?

- I just didn't want to stand in the way of your whole mother-daughter day, Luke shrugged.

- Luke, do you have any idea how many hours of shopping we will have put behind us before it'd be time for our date? Not to mention we'll probably be eating one or two meals in the mall before the day's over. Trust me, we might even get a little sick of each other by the time I'll have to leave... What time do you want to go?

- Well, I made reservations for six o'clock.

- Wow, so this is a _planned_ evening, Lorelai stated, impressed.

- I thought that with the wedding finally over, you'd be in the mood to celebrate, Luke shrugged.

- Dirty, Lorelai teased.

- Geez, Luke muttered.

- Well, I'd love to go, Lorelai grinned.

- Bah, William piped up, sticking his right thumb in his mouth.

- See, William can't seem to hold in the excitement, either, Lorelai chuckled. - So, where are you taking us?

- You'll know when you get there.

- Okay, then what time do you need me to be ready, she asked.

- It's not that far, Luke shrugged. - So five thirty should do it.

- You've got yourself a date, mister, Lorelai grinned. - Any input on what you'd like me to wear?

- Well, some actual clothes would be good, Luke pointed out. - As little I'd like the idea of you running around Stars Hollow in only your bathrobe, I'm even less thrilled at the thought of you running around New Haven in it.

- I meant for tonight, Lorelai laughed, playfully swatting him.

- Surprise me, Luke told her.

TBC


	113. February 5th, 1996

AN: In case any of you were wondering what was taking me so long, seeing as my chapters had at least begun to appear more frequently? Well the answer is simple, I was in the middle of writing the second longest chapter this story's ever had (for those curious, the longest was ch 35), so I think I have a pretty good reason for taking a little time, plus poor Steph was swamped with assignments, I got dizzy just hearing about it and for some strange and mystical reason really glad I'm no longer in school. I wonder why... And in addition to that I wrote a chapter for story some of you guys may follow titled; Dirty Comfort, which will most likely be out tomorrow. And before anyone of you think I am holding out on you, I'm really not, but Steph only had time to finish betaing this chapter today (who can blame her?) and it was either wait until tomorrow to post both of them or post this one today and post the DC one tomorrow. So my smut-lovers, tune in tomorrow, okay? And in the meantime enjoy this one. So while thanking Steph for her massive work (I honestly can't believe she's made it with me so far and not strayed, the girl deserves a medal), I'm ending this AN with a fun little tidbit about the chapter number, it's Norway's equivalent to your 911, take care, enjoy and be kind enough to let me know what you think.

**smileyGGfan** - I honestly feel the only thing worse than where ASP took LL in season 6 was where DR took them in season 7 (season 7? what season 7? Lalalalalala, I can't hear you!) And I agree with you, getting up early in the morning sucks and makes me grumpy, too. But when someone dumps a baby on top on your chest, like my dad did to me with my niece once, so the first thing you see when you open your eyes is that little innocent bundle looking at you, then it's difficult to be grouchy.

**Copop** - Luke wanted to make sure he wasn't unintentionally excluding anyone or cutting down on any planned mother/daughter time. And he didn't want to send the wrong message that Rory wasn't invited to come along to something that essentially was a 'family dinner'. The answer to your last question is; there's not been time yet and look in your update alerts and you will see that I did intend on give you guys a DC chapter.

* * *

Lorelai sometimes wondered where this horrible sense of time had really come from and how she seemed to be the only one in her family possessing the quality. While Richard could at times be a bit neglectful towards his family, he never ran late for a single one of his business meetings. Emily ran the Gilmore household practically with a watch in one hand and a leather whip in the other... well figuratively at least. And Trix, or Lorelai the first as she was also known as, was so impeccable with her timing that she put good old Emily to shame. Even Rory had an obsessive compulsion about being everywhere on time. It were these differences that if it weren't for Rory having them as well, Lorelai would have been dead sure there had been some kind mix-up at the hospital on the day she was born. And if Rory's father had been someone other than Chris, Lorelai might also be tempted to believe that these qualities came from the other side of the gene pool, but Chris was just as hopeless with these things as her, even more so. So no, Rory was the proof that the Gilmore blood was running through both the Lorelais' veins.

As she unloaded her car of what seemed to be a gazillion shopping bags, Lorelai looked down at the bundle she was trying to hold up with just her left arm to free the other up to carry all the bags. She wondered if William had inherited that orderly gene running in the Gilmore family line, that usually first showed its sign around the age of two or three, at least that's what it had done with Rory, or if he would be more similar to her than her firstborn had been. Considering Luke's consistent arriving on time or sooner, unless prevented by unforeseen obstacles, which could happen to even the most timely people, the odds for that were simply not in her favor. Then again, maybe not. Maybe when there were too much of one thing, nature had a way of setting balance by letting the complete opposite occur in the next generation. After all, if Richard and Emily for some reason got her, and she and Chris managed to get Rory, who was to say that William wouldn't take after her, despite the strong indices of there being more of the orderly gene in his blood. She would just have to wait and see.

With both hands occupied by several bags and one arm being busy holding the baby up, Lorelai had only part of the elbow to her aid when trying to open the diner's front door. Luckily she had years of experience with using any available limb, which included standing on one leg while using the other, to open front doors, cars, and cupboards, so it took her less than ten seconds to turn the handle and swing it open. Luckily Luke's was one of few places whose doors still swung inwards, instead of outwards, per the request of the emergency fire escape way regulation something dash something-something that Taylor passed the motion for a good five, possibly six years back. Lorelai secretly suspected that Luke had not replaced the frame, like he'd been instructed to a few dozen times, just to spite Taylor. And the few times Lorelai had actually asked him about it, always right after she'd just seen Taylor bug Luke about it for the umpteenth time, Luke had calmly pointed out that if in case of an emergency, the people of Stars Hollow were too inept to be able to open a door that swung inwards, they could always go out the back door, which _did_ swing outwards.

- You need any help, Luke asked, as Lorelai backed herself and William into the diner, bumping into several tables as she went, almost knocking over a few people's dinners.

- Baba, William cried out, stretching both his arms towards him, almost causing Lorelai to drop everything else to the ground in order to keep him from falling.

William had not yet made a habit out of calling Luke 'baba', but Lorelai could tell he was getting there. He seemed a lot more in control of the word and whenever he did seem to formulate it, it was almost always said in the direction of Luke or something that William would be likely to associate with Luke. Luke did not seem to read as much into the whole thing as she did. While whenever it happened, she would see a goofy smile spread all over Luke's face, afterwards Luke would rationally point out that William most likely had learned from the response he got from saying it, that this was a combination of sounds that the people close to him liked to hear. Not buying the calm explanation at all, Lorelai suspected it to be a defense mechanism of Luke's; to play things down a bit so he wouldn't get his hopes up for nothing. An insecurity that seemed to be weakening little by little as William kept directing the word towards him.

- Hey, buddy, Luke greeted his son as he took the boy from Lorelai.

Luke was not really a cooing or sugartalking sort of man, not in public at least, which really didn't make him different than most of the men populating the planet. While Lorelai had about a million and one nicknames for her baby boy, Luke generally liked to stick with 'buddy' whenever he wasn't calling him by his actual name. Lorelai had noticed that Luke rarely used nicknames at all, unless certain individuals annoyed him one time too many, in which he had a variety of colorful names for them. Unless a nickname was commonly used amongst everyone, like with Rory or with Liz, Luke generally stuck to using people's actual names. Lorelai found she liked that about him. Not that she was against nicknames. Max had on a couple of occasions during their relationship called her 'honey', which she had found sweet. Chris had made a habit out of always calling her 'Lor', a nickname dating back to when they were both in their early teens. As cute as she'd found it back then, the years passing by had made sure it little by little had lost its appeal to a point where she'd begun finding it kind of unflattering. It was sharp sounding, yet dreary at the same time. The single syllable was like a censored movie, it cut away all the good parts, leaving just the uninteresting gunk. It was just out of habit that she hadn't objected to it, yet. Truth be told she preferred hearing her name over any nickname and had really come to love the way Luke spoke it, the way which he let every single syllable of it roll off his tongue.

- Lorelai, Luke said, as though he'd just read her mind.

Lorelai realized that while she had been venturing on this trail of thought, she'd also been standing still right in the middle of the diner, blocking one of the most common pathways Luke and Lane took when delivering orders and refilling coffee.

- Oh, she said, snapping out of it. - Sorry, I kinda zoned out there, didn't I?

- Just a little, Luke agreed. - Hey, are you gonna be ready at six or do you need more time?

- Crap, Lorelai exclaimed, forgetting in the heat of the moment that this could easily become the moment where she accidentally taught her son his first swear word.

She froze up mid-pose when realizing, and the seconds ticked off slowly one by one while she listened intensely to whatever next would leave her son's mouth. When ten, twenty, even thirty seconds went by and nothing came, Lorelai relaxed. With Rory the word had been repeated instantly, before ten seconds had even had the time to pass, so when William didn't do the same, Lorelai sighed in relief. This was exactly why Sookie had made a habit out of yelling 'sugarfoot' whenever the urge to swear came over her, which considering she worked with Michel was not as rare as one would want it to be.

- You okay, Luke wondered.

- Yeah, Lorelai nodded. - I just need to pick up a copy of English to Obscure Language Dictionary so I don't have to worry about William teaching his future kindergarten class 'swearing 101'.

If Luke was thinking she was exaggerating just a little bit, which he probably was, he didn't say it, just nodded along.

- Or you could possibly find other ways of expressing yourself, he shrugged.

- I can help you with that, Lorelai, Kirk piped up from a few tables away. - I once swore like there was no tomorrow. Drove mother crazy, so she ordered me this collar through one of her many magazines that would shock me with minor electric jolts whenever I expressed myself using profanity, kinda like one of those dog collars that shocks your dog if it barks too loudly. And I can proudly say I haven't sworn since.

- Kirk, Luke began, seeming almost reluctant to ask. - How would a dumb collar know whether or not you were using profanity?

- Well, studies have revealed that profanity is mostly used in the heat of the moment, Kirk explained. - We are more likely to swear when we are excited or angry than when conducting an everyday conversation.

- So, really, whenever you spoke above your average speaking voice, the collar would shock you, Luke concluded. - No matter what came out of your mouth.

- That would be correct, Kirk nodded. - After a few days I learned to neutralize my voice and control my emotions to keep myself out of harm's way so to speak.

- Is this why you're always speaking in that monotone voice, Lorelai asked, wondering if maybe she'd just been offered an insight to why Kirk was who he was.

- The bottom line is that it taught me how to moderate my outbursts, Kirk stated. - And my neck regained its normal color after just under three weeks, a small price to pay, I say, considering the benefits. I still have it, by the way, in mint condition, if you're interested.

If Lorelai had gotten to witness herself in that moment through someone else's eyes, she would've been proud and a little surprised that she'd managed to keep herself from bursting out laughing.

- I think I'll pass on this one, she told him.

- Your loss, Kirk shrugged. - I'm telling you, if marketed properly, this device could become a major gold mine.

- Kirk, Luke said, pausing for a few seconds as if to finding the right way of phrasing himself. - Has it ever occurred to you that maybe it was an _actual_ dog collar?

- I'm not really sure, Kirk admitted. - Mother never let me see the box it came in.

Lorelai couldn't do more than shake her head at the whole thing. She had never actually met this woman, which was a mystery in itself, considering they both lived in an insanely small and close-knit community. But with everything she was learning from Kirk about his mother, she really wasn't sure she wanted to meet her, either. She had encountered many scary people in her lifetime, but she was pretty sure this woman would redefine the word scary.

- Eh, William said, as if he was feeling left out of the conversation.

When Lorelai turned to him, she noticed that while her and Luke had both turned their attention elsewhere, William had reached over to the half-finished plate of hamburger and fries that Luke was holding, dipping his entire fist in the remaining ketchup at the edge of the plate. The substance had then stained various parts of the boy's clothes, his skin and had even made it into the very thin silky hair feathering at the top of his head.

- This should teach us a lesson on not paying attention, she sighed, moving to take William back.

Luke rose his hand to prevent her.

- I can take him, he told her. - You just go and get ready.

Lorelai didn't protest, just nodded.

- There's some new outfits for him in the yellow bag, she informed him before taking the rest of the bags with her upstairs.

It was commonly known that time flew when one was having fun, but the lesser known fact was that time also had a tendency to fly when you were in a hurry. As Luke had sprung the idea on her just this morning, she'd had no time to pick out an outfit in advance, not that she would have if she had been given a few days notice. Her clothing situation seemed to have warped into two very different scenarios at the same time; having too many clothes combined with not having anything to wear. An impossible situation. Finally realizing she needed professional help, or something close to it, she called Rory, who didn't seem the least surprised by the call and who within less than five minutes had helped Lorelai land on her final clothing choice. Everything seemed to go a little bit easier after that, until she encountered the next dilemma on how to wear her hair. Another call to Rory helped her settle on wearing it down. It was silly how she was fretting about these things as if she was going on her very first date and not going to a small family dinner with the father of her child and their baby boy. Normally a situation like that was no reason to get all worked up over frivolous things like hair and clothes, but with the unconventional order of events this could in some ways count as a first date, at least a first date that really counted. One that was free of secrets and lies that eventually had to be unveiled.

When Lorelai finally grabbed her purse from the kitchen table, indicating that she was finally ready to go, the clock on the wall said a quarter past six. A whole fifteen minutes after Luke had said he'd made reservations. However, he had yet to rush her or point to his wrist to indicate they were running late, not even once, which Lorelai found a bit suspicious, especially since both he and William had been ready to go already half an hour ago. Luke had changed out of the jeans and flannel and into a pair of black slacks and a dark blue shirt, which looked suspiciously like the one she'd bought for him on her shopping trip with Rory. William was dressed in a dark green pair of pants and a matching green t-shirt with a picture of a shamrock on the front. Lorelai had also bought the jacket that came with the ensemble, but it was far too warm of a day for it to be needed. Still, Lorelai grabbed it from the stack of clothes that Luke had folded while waiting for her to get ready and slipped it into the baby bag they were bringing along.

- You never know how chilly it can get on the way back, she shrugged. - By the way, sorry for keeping you waiting. I swear, I _tried_ to be ready by six, but the forces of the universe decided to gang up on me.

- I had a feeling it would be something like that, he shrugged. - That's why I made the reservation for half past.

Lorelai's jaw dropped and she was ready to make her objections, when Luke interrupted her.

- Take a look at the time, he told her. - Are you really in a position to be angry with me? Now, come on or we're really going to be late.

She didn't argue with him, but as a protest against his lacking faith in her ability to keep time, she refused to say anything for the whole ride there. Luckily it was a short one and Luke soon pulled up aside an old wooden building with the name 'Sniffy's Tavern' carved out on a sign hanging over the front door. Upon entering the building, Lorelai could tell this was a place with real atmosphere, from the tables all set in side their own private nooks, old pictures and knick knacks covering every inch of the walls. The lighting was naturally dimmed with the use of older lamps hanging low, but not too low, over the tables.

- Oh, wow, she mumbled, breaking her temporary vow of silence, nodding her approval. - Very Prancing Pony.

- This way, Luke told her, guiding her through the restaurant to a table on the other side where a reserved sign had been placed in the middle of the table.

The table was perfect, except one tiny detail, the lack of a high chair for William. Luke seemed to be thinking along the same line, as right after Lorelai had sat down, he handed William over to her and placed the baby bag halfway under the table to make sure it wouldn't get in anyone's way.

- I'll go and see about acquiring a high chair, he said, just as a female voice called out to them from behind him.

- _Lucas!_

Lorelai leaned over and saw a short older lady with short blonde hair with a few grey streaks and glasses resting at the tip of her nose approaching the table.

- How're you doing, Maisy, Luke greeted her, allowing the tiny woman to envelope him in a hug.

- What, you seat yourself now, she scolded him. - You're at a nice place now, Lucas, not at that hash joint of yours.

Lorelai chuckled at the scene in front of her. This was not just some random restaurant that Luke had chosen. The people here knew him, which meant this place meant a lot to him. So as much as she loved the place when she first came in, she was loving it even more now, because it obviously meant a great deal to Luke.

- And this must be your young lady, Maisy said, as she turned to take a proper look at Lorelai.

Lorelai felt as though she was being weighed and measured, almost like she believed she would be if she had been standing face to face with Luke's own mother. She wasn't sure what connection Luke had to this older woman, but she seemed very protective of him.

- And by the looks of it, I have a couple of more reasons to scold you for, if my suspicions are right, Maisy continued as her gaze fell on William, who was busy exploring one of the toys they had brought with the with the bag, before turning back to Luke. - The boy's yours ain't he?

- It's a long story, Luke explained.

- One that you better spill the next time you come by, Maisy warned him, before turning back to Lorelai, reaching out her hand. - Hi, there, I'm Maisy.

- I'm Lorelai, Lorelai replied, shaking the woman's hand. - I love your place.

- It used to be a whorehouse, Maisy informed her.

- Oh, my, Lorelai replied, a bit surprised by Maisy's sudden bluntness.

Having always been a fan of people who spoke their mind, Lorelai knew she was going to like this person very much. Maisy grinned at her taken aback reaction.

- I like that it's got a tarty history, she continued. - The best places do.

- And the best people, Lorelai added.

- Hmm, best people, Maisy repeated, nodding approvingly at Lorelai. - I like that.

She turned and nodded at Luke, obviously approving of his choice of girlfriend.

- Now you two can't be spending the evening holding that child the entire time, no matter how adorable he is, she pointed out. - There's a couple of high chairs out back by the restroom.

- Thanks, Luke replied, walking off in the direction Maisy had just pointed.

- _Buddy_, Masiy called out towards the kitchen.

Just a few seconds later a slightly grey-haired man, just a tad taller than Maisy was, with matching glasses, emerged.

- Buddy, this is Lorelai, Maisy introduced her. - And this little guy is...

Maisy stopped, ransacking her mind before turning to Lorelai.

- I'm sorry, what's the boy's name, again?

- William, Lorelai complied.

- William, Maisy repeated, her brows raised, nodding approvingly. - That's a good name.

Buddy seemed to be a little bit lost with why he'd been called out of the kitchen.

- He's Lucas' kid, Maisy explained to him, but before Buddy had the chance to open his mouth, she added. - Don't ask, though. He'll tell us later. This here's his girl, Lorelai.

- Well, hello there, Lorelai, Buddy said, cheerfully, shaking her hand.

- Hello Buddy, Lorelai replied, a bit overwhelmed by being treated as though she was some kind of sensation.

Obviously picking up on it, Maisy turned to Lorelai to explain.

- It's a big day for us, because Lucas never brings his girls _here_, she said with a pointed look at Luke who was returning with a high chair.

- How long have you two been seeing each other, Buddy wanted to know.

- Well, um, not that long, Lorelai admitted.

Both Buddy and Maisy raised their brows and turned their attention towards Luke, who had just accepted William from Lorelai and was about to put the boy down in the high chair.

- It's a _long_ story, he repeated.

- Uhuh, Maisy mumbled, not seeming to be all that convinced and turned her head towards one of the waitresses. - Tina, some sparkly water and champagne.

- And a beer, Luke added.

- When you're on a date, you drink champagne, Maisy lectured. - When you're at a ball game, you drink a beer.

Lorelai chuckled.

- What about him, Maisy asked, nodding towards William. - Does he drink water, yet, or should we heat up some formula for him?

- I think water will be fine, Lorelai told her. - But maybe a sippy cup to go with it?

Luke nodded in agreement.

- And bring a jar of apple sauce, he added.

- But I think we still need a couple of minutes, Lorelai stated, taking in the large detailed menu sitting in front of her.

- Don't bother looking, Luke warned her. - Whatever you order, they'll just bring you something different.

Almost as on cue Maisy turned towards Buddy.

- Hey, what about the..., she said, gesticulating the dish with her hands.

- Oh yeah, Buddy caught on. - Good... with garlic...

- Oh, no, Maisy said, shaking her head, turning her gaze over to Luke and Lorelai. - No garlic. I mean, give the boy a chance.

Buddy looked a mite disappointed by his suggestion being shot down, but he made no fuss about it and instead turned and left for the kitchen. Maisy stayed behind.

- I'll be right out with the apple sauce, she told the couple. - I hope I'll see you here more, Lorelai. He's a special one, this one.

- Don't I know it, Lorelai grinned, taking Luke's hand in hers, letting her thumb caress the back of it in a slow circular motion.

When Maisy left to join Buddy in the kitchen to cook up their mystery meal, Lorelai just had to point it out.

- They _know_ you here.

- Bah, William added, stretching his hand out towards the ground, where he'd just dropped the toy he'd been exploring.

When he'd first started saying it in a way that indicated it wasn't just another random sound, Lorelai had been sure that William's word 'bah' meant his blue bunny, as it had most often been the item the boy had sought. But now she'd begun to realize that William used it for more than just the bunny. Her new theory was that 'bah' was more of a generic term for anything out of reach that William wanted, his way of saying 'give me that', though in a much cuter way.

- _Bah_, William repeated, with a little more desperation in his voice.

The little boy's arms were waving in all directions in an attempt to make them reach further. The high chair began wobbling from side to side as the boy tossed his little, but not so light body around. While the contraption would need far more force to actually tip over, Lorelai reacted out instinctively and grabbed the edge of the chair to steady it, while Luke bent down and picked the toy up. The boy stopped tossing and turning when Luke finally returned it to him, and Lorelai could let go of the chair again.

- They _really_ know you here, she repeated.

- I've known Buddy and Maisy my whole life, Luke said, nodding. - Maisy went to school with my mother and I saw a lot of her and Buddy while growing up. Even after mom died, as they had also gotten real close with my dad.

- Oh, wow, Lorelai muttered, not really knowing what to say, at all, as she hadn't had a good relationship with her parents, let alone their friends.

- And then when my dad died, they really stepped up to try and help Liz and me any way they could, Luke continued. - When I decided I wanted to turn the Hardware store into a diner, Buddy really helped me out, showed me how to run a restaurant, how to order... everything.

- He sounds really great, Lorelai agreed.

- He is, Luke nodded. - I couldn't have done it without him... or Maisy for that matter. In many ways they almost became like my substitute parents, someone to go to for advice when everything seemed to be heading right down the drain.

- So, in other words, tonight I got to meet 'the parents' so to speak, Lorelai concluded.

- To an extent you could probably call it that, Luke shrugged.

- Less painful than I'd expected, Lorelai pointed out.

- Yeah, they really seemed to take to you.

- That feeling was mutual, she insisted. - I really like them... and this place. You can tell they've put a lot into it.

- It's a great place, Luke agreed. - Very old.

- How long have they owned it, Lorelai asked out of curiosity.

- Actually, the story of that is on the back of the menu.

Intrigued, Lorelai flipped the menu over, reading the headline and sub-headline; 'Sniffy's Tavern - the story of love'.

- _Maisy Fortner_, she began. - _And Bertram 'Buddy' Linds met at a high school basketball game. She was playing. He was not. They fell in love, got married. Buddy went to work at a dairy and Maisy worked at the school. But they dreamed of one day owning a restaurant, so that all their friends and family could come and eat and visit and laugh with them every single day._

- Buddy hated working at that dairy, Luke reminisced.

- Did he work there for long, Lorelai wanted to know.

- Well, I don't remember the exact year he started, Luke admitted. - As far back as I can remember, that's where he worked and whenever I was over when he came home from work, I'd hear him complaining about his day before he even crossed the threshold. I was about twelve when they finally opened this place for business. We all went and ate here on their opening day. Mom had already gotten sick, so that was pretty much the last time we all went out as a family. She died, not too long after that.

- Oh, wow, Lorelai muttered upon hearing it. - No wonder this place means so much to you.

- Dad and I went and ate here several times after that, but Liz never went again, Luke added. - I don't even think she's been here more than that one time.

- I can understand that, Lorelai nodded. - It must have been hard... on both of you. Thank you for sharing that with me.

- It's what you do in a relationship, Luke shrugged.

A smile spread across her face when she heard him use the word 'relationship'.

- That doesn't mean it's any less special, she pointed out, her voice soft.

Luke just shrugged, neither saying anything to agree or disagree. William had completely dropped his interest in the toy he'd been so desperate to get just a couple of minutes earlier and was now stretching in an attempt to get the menu Lorelai was holding. Luke, obviously feeling the rush of paternal instinct reached out to prevent the boy from leaning too far over the edge. Lorelai slid over to him so that she could read the menu as well as letting William play a little bit with it. She ran her finger over the edges, trying to detect if there were any sharp edges or corners that might be harmful for him, when she was convinced it wasn't, she held the menu close enough so William could reach it. He immediately pulled the corner to his mouth, tasting it. Lorelai laughed.

- What do you say, buddy, she asked him. - Did it taste promising?

- Eh, William asked and ran his plump little hand over the surface, his finger tracing the ridges where the text was.

Taking it as a cue to continue reading, Lorelai turned her gaze back to the story.

- _One day Sniffy, their beloved dog, ran away_, she read. - _Maisy and Buddy searched high and low for him. Finally they stumbled past a dilapidated old tavern that had been boarded up for years. They heard a dog howling. They forced open the door, and there was Sniffy, stuck underneath a fallen beam. Maisy and Buddy pulled Sniffy free and rushed him to the vet, where he immediately went into emergency surgery._

She paused for a moment, looking over at Luke.

- Oh my God, she exclaimed. - Did Paul Thomas Anderson write this? Edit, people!

- You don't have to read the whole thing, Luke chuckled. - There's not gonna be a quiz.

- I'm almost done, she insisted. - _Four hours later... Sniffy was dead_.

Dropping the menu onto the table, she once again turned and looked at Luke.

- Sniffy was dead, she asked. - Are you serious? Where's the happy ending?

- Well, Luke shrugged. - That's what happened.

- People don't read the back of the menu to find out what really happened, Lorelai insisted. - They read the back of the menu to be happy; to be uplifted. That's why they read the back of the menu.

Luke seemed almost amused about how serious she was taking this.

- Not that many people read the back of the menu, he pointed out.

Lorelai scowled at him, sat in silence for several minutes, watching Luke and William interact in front of her eyes. Then as quickly as she'd fallen silent, she spoke again.

- You should do that.

- Do what, Luke asked, confused.

- Put a story on the back of your menus.

- A story, Luke repeated, sounding skeptic to the idea.

- A happy one, Lorelai clarified. - Something that will cheer people up. You know, really add to the menu. It's not like you have anything else to decorate it.

- It doesn't need decorating, Luke pointed out.

- Um, yes it does, she insisted.

- All my menus are laminated, he argued. - The only way to add anything would be to get complete new menus.

- So get new menus, she shrugged.

- Because you're so thrilled whenever I get new menus, Luke said, dryly.

- I have nothing against new menus, Lorelai corrected him. - It's the super heavy plastic that I object to.

- Well, as your doodling was the reason I used it, I'm not gonna feel guilty about it, Luke shrugged.

- All you did was challenge my creative abilities, Lorelai shrugged, receiving a confused look. - Safety pins, hon. No amount of super heavy plastic can stand against it. I've already managed to put my initials down in all of your new menus in fancy new doodles.

Luke raised his brows as Lorelai grinned victoriously.

- I thought it'd taken you several years to hit all of my old menus, he pointed out, suspiciously. - These new ones have only been in use for about one.

- Oh, ye of little faith, she retorted, then gave in. - You had the whole bunch sitting out on the counter when I came home from work Saturday, and who was I to resist such a temptation?

- So, you took a shortcut.

- I like to think of it as playing to my advantage.

- Wait a minute... I'd already closed the diner by the time you came home, Luke realized, then it hit him. - You went and _looked_ for them.

Lorelai simply responded with a little too innocent-looking smile.

- That's cheating, Luke pointed out.

- All is fair in love and war, she shrugged.

Luke chuckled, only mildly annoyed, shaking his head in defeat.

- So, seriously, Lorelai said, changing back to their original subject. - You should totally have a story on the back of your menu, make it more festive, you know?

- Since when have I been a big fan of festive, Luke asked, raising his brows.

This made Lorelai think fondly back on all the times she'd witness Luke and Taylor having it out in the middle of the diner, whenever they came close to a new holiday or a new town event and Taylor got it into his head that this would be the year he talked Luke into participating in some kind of way. The way the argument/fight would conclude would vary. Sometimes Taylor stormed out of the diner, sometimes Luke threw something after the man, sometimes Taylor would try and turn to Lorelai for support. The only thing that never changed was the result; no matter what, Taylor never got his way.

- Well, firstly you should remember that I'm not Taylor, she pointed out. - Not just because I'm not quite as anal and nazi-like as he is, but also because I doubt you'd be looking at Taylor in the same manner you look at me. Otherwise I'd be seriously worried about the future of this relationship.

- Geez, Luke muttered, rolling his eyes, looking slightly disturbed by the imagery she'd put into his head.

- Secondly, she continued. - This is not for the sake of some holiday or a town event, but your diner. I mean, how you used to work in your father's hardware store, knowing you wanted nothing more than to work there when you grew up and then turning it into a diner when he died, it's a great story, Luke. Bound to not leave a single dry eye.

- I thought you said people read the back of the menu to be happy, not sad, Luke pointed out.

- I'm talking about them being moved, dummy, Lorelai said, playfully nudging him.

- Well, either way, I don't particularly desire to serve teary-eyed customers, Luke decided. - Besides, there's really not that much more to the story than your summation of it. It's not really enough to fill the entire backside of my menu.

- Then how about our story, Lorelai suggested.

Luke snorted.

- Our story wouldn't stand a chance in fitting onto one single page of paper.

- Well, not the Paul Thomas Anderson version of it, of course, Lorelai acknowledged. - But that's what editing is for.

- I still don't like the thought of airing our dirty laundry out for every tourist to see, Luke pointed out.

- Well, okay, Lorelai nodded, realizing that it probably was a bit too much of an over share, considering the whole William thing. - Then, how about the first time you laid eyes on this dazzling woman sitting in your presence.

- Such modesty, Luke teased.

- Why, Luke, she replied. - Are you by any chance insinuating I'm not?

Luke did the wise thing of not answering.

- When was that, by the way, Lorelai suddenly asked.

- Was what?

- I'm trying to remember the first time we met. It must have been at Luke's, right?

- It was at Luke's, he confirmed. - It was at lunch, it was a very busy day, the place was packed, and this person...

- Ooh, Lorelai said excitedly. - Is it me? Is it me?

- This person comes tearing into the place in a caffeine frenzy, Luke continued.

- Ooh, it's me, she grinned.

- I was with a customer. She interrupts me, wild-eyed, begging for coffee, he described. - So I tell her to wait her turn.

Lorelai began laughing, as she couldn't imagine a better way of introducing herself to Luke. She didn't remember the specific incident, herself, but she knew herself well enough to recognize her behavior pattern when being caffeine-deprived. It was usually either bouncing off the walls in desperation or physically not being able to move, speak or function as a human being.

- Then she starts following me around, he continued. - Talking a mile a minute, saying God knows what. So finally I turn to her, and I tell her she's being annoying; sit down, shut up, I'll get to her when I get to her.

- And I bet she took that really well, she commented. - 'Cause she sounds just delightful.

Luke chuckled.

- She asked me what my birthday was. I wouldn't tell her. She wouldn't stop talking. I gave in. I told her my birthday. Then she opened up the newspaper to the horoscope page, wrote something down, tore it out, handed it to me.

Lorelai rose her brows and looked pointedly at him.

- God, seriously, she muttered. - _You_ wrote the menu, didn't you?

- So I'm looking at this piece of paper in my hand, Luke told her, ignoring her comment. - And under 'Scorpio', she'd written, 'you will meet an annoying woman today. Give her coffee and she'll go away.' I gave her coffee.

- But she didn't go away, Lorelai pointed out, grinningly.

He nodded, reaching into his back pocket, pulling out his wallet.

- She also told me to hold on to that horoscope, put it in my wallet, and carry it around with me, that one day it would bring me luck.

He fished a piece of paper out and handed it to her.

- Wow, man, I'll say anything for a cup of coffee, she chuckled, looking down at it.

The incident itself did not trigger anything in her mind, but she recognized her loopy handwriting spelling out the words that Luke had spoken. Out of curiosity she looked up to see what Luke's horoscope really had said that day.

_'It's all about partnerships this week, Scorpio. Being half of a dynamic duo will take you farther than flying solo. Be on the look out for a complementary opposite who can pick up where you leave off. It may be someone you've known all your life or a complete stranger walking into it for the first time. Be open to the possibilities. This could be the week you attract that outgoing love interest, or reawaken the social side of the person you're with.'_

Although she had acknowledged that horoscopes were written so generally that you could always find some truth in it no matter what, this particular one seemed to fit a bit too well to just be a freakish coincidence. She wondered if Luke had ever read the horoscope part of it at all, or if he had just read the bit underneath that she'd written. Hell, she wondered if she had read that horoscope herself, or if she'd just been too focused on getting the coffee to really care.

- I can't believe you kept this, she muttered. - You kept this in your wallet.

- Eight years, Luke nodded.

- Eight years, Lorelai realized when she traced her finger along the piece of paper to the date printed in the upper corner; February 5th, 1996.

Treating it with the upmost care, she folded it gently and returned it to Luke who then put it right back into his wallet. Before either one of them had time to say anything else on the matter, Maisy returned with the apple sauce, much to the delight of a hungry William and the waitress Maisy had addressed earlier came on over with their drinks.

Lorelai thought about that horoscope the rest of the night. When she and Luke toasted and Luke reaffirmed his dislike of champagne. When William nodded off in his high chair and Luke went out to the truck to retrieve his car seat, so that he could continue to sleep beside both his parents. When they said goodbye and goodnight to Maisy and Buddy, promising the both of them that they would come back soon. In every one of those moments, she thought about that horoscope.

By the time they reached the apartment, William had already slept for a good two hours. They carried the car seat in with them to avoid disturbing their son more than they already had to. And for some miraculous reason William merely sighed and propped his thumb into his mouth when Lorelai changed his diaper and put him into his pajamas for the night. When the boy had been safely tucked into his crib for the night, his parents hovered over his crib for a little while before moving across the room. Luke brewed her a pot of coffee, unasked and poured her a cup, handing it to her. He didn't say anything, just stood across the room from her, watching her take a sip of her elixir of life.

Normally when one came back together from a date it was implied where it was going to end, but when one was in many ways living together, no matter how temporary, it was difficult to interpret the signals, so as a demonstration, she put the cup down after the one sip and walked across the room, towards him.

She gazed into his eyes, moving her hand up to cup his cheek, tracing the edge of his lips with her finger. Her mind wandered once again back to the horoscope sitting in his wallet. Eight years. He'd kept it there for eight plus years, ever since she'd handed it to him on a whim in a desperate attempt to soothe her caffeine withdrawal. She hadn't seen him that day and maybe she hadn't seen him the few times she'd come in afterwards. While Luke's realization had hit him like a ton of bricks, hers had been more fluid. She remembered the time she'd relied on Luke as a friend and the time where neither he or his coffee had been part of her life, but the time in between, the time where she'd known him, but not really known him, she simply couldn't remember it. It had happened without her being aware of it, before she knew it; it had been like she'd always known him.

She tilted her head up and captured his lips with hers. Luke responded by wrapping his arms around her waist, almost lifting her up an inch or two to gain a better access to her. She began unbuttoning the top button of his shirt. Luke stopped.

- William, he reminded her.

- Is asleep, she replied.

He didn't need any more convincing.

TBC

_Note: Make sure to catch the continuance of this night in the upcoming DC chapter; "Go to sleep" in an update alert near you._


	114. Mr Fix It

Announcement: Updating CF and DC at the same day is no longer working and not just because of the insane drop in reviews (which is frustrating in itself), but for other reasons as well. I'm working more these days, so I can save up hours to go home for Christmas, so the time it takes me to write and Steph to beta the two chapters is getting a bit too long for my liking (and probably yours as well). Also there will be times where, for example DC has two chapters in a row. (And what would've been the solution, then?) So I will continue to make notices when a CF chapter is followed by a DC one, but they will no longer be posted in the same day. I hope you understand. Thank you. 

AN: So I should point out is that this chapter does indeed have a smutty continuance, which hopefully will be ready for you in not too many days, so be sure to be on the lookout. Before I close off this very short Author's Note and continue with the shoutouts, here's one to Steph, who even at her busiest time, never fails to make time for this story (now, that's committment, my friends).

**Copop** - If you had gotten the title before reading the chapter, I would've had no other choice than to salute you and dub thee queen of foresight. I'm glad no one viewed William's presence as a disruption. One never knows when one in a way incorporates a beloved scene like the date (though timeline-wise we're actually just on the cusp of 5.02) and changes it.

**lukelover87** & **Copop** - Here's a funny tidbit for you, the horoscope was an actual Scorpio horoscope with only minor alternations... mostly cutting things away rather than adding them on, so most of the love/partner stuff was actually in it already. Freaky huh?

**anon** - Thank you :)

* * *

The Bangles once sang about a Manic Monday, but as Lorelai was sitting in her office, crouched over the next month's budget, trying to figure out which expenses to eliminate to keep it balanced, she wished the song had been called Manic Tuesday, which of course didn't sound as well, but at least then she'd have an incentive to sing it. It wasn't that it was a bad day, well she could do without having to deal with the budget, but all in all she had no _real_ reason for her mood. She and Luke were in a really good place, as proven from waking up snuggled up in his embrace, naked, that morning. The sun was shining. And William was practicing crawling in his play pin, allowing her to work for a little while without interruptions. All of which were reasons to feel all manners of happy, but in reality they were the source of her current mood.

Her baby boy was crawling, pushing himself forward on his stomach with ease, laughing as he enjoyed this newfound freedom of movement, and because of the stupid budget not, excuse the pun, budging and the pile of paperwork waiting to be done doing the opposite of shrinking, she couldn't enjoy it with him. Strictly speaking it wasn't a 'first', which was the only valid excuse to take a break. William had crawled several times before, sure, not as easily as he did today, but he had already done it. If she paused her work every time she felt compelled to because of something William was doing, she wouldn't get anything done and she knew it. Being a new business, the Dragonfly depended on everyone working with maximum efficiency, which meant that unless William was upset, hungry or needed her in any other way, she could not so much as look up until the numbers in front of her were not red anymore. The sunlight beaming through her two large windows, was only adding to her mood as it reminded her of how beautiful of a day it was and yet she couldn't go outside to enjoy it.

Her last reason of frustration was also her biggest; she was horny. It was like a switch in her head had been turned on and the woman who'd been able to sleep in the same bed as her lover without anything more happening for three plus weeks had vanished. Gone. Replaced by the spirit of a teenager discovering sex for the very first time. She felt ridiculous. Here she was, a grown woman in her mid-thirties, mother of two, with enough notches on her bedpost to testify that she was in no shape or form a stranger to sex and yet all she could think about was exactly that. Not even a day... hell, not even half a day had passed since she'd last done the horizontal tango and here she was wanting more. Craving more. And the worst thing was that instead of going home in the afternoon, like most people, she was looking at working late to catch up on the paperwork that unlike her, hadn't taken the day off.

She tugged on her hair in frustration, going over the budget one more time. There was no way she'd be able to make a cut without upsetting one person or another. And as one of the biggest expenses also happened to be one where they were currently experiencing a drop in revenue, the person she'd end up upsetting was more and more likely to be Sookie. Her thought process was interrupted with a knock on her door, seconds later followed by the bubbly chef herself entering, holding a steaming cup of coffee.

- Sookie, Lorelai sighed. - I really can't right now.

- Wow, refusing coffee, Sookie pointed out. - This _is_ serious. I know Michel said you were cranky...

- I'm not cranky, I'm just really concentrating on this budget, Lorelai explained. - And I think I'm getting a headache.

- Yeah, Sookie nodded. - That would be the stuffy air and the lack of caffeine talking. Come on, you've been cooped up here all morning. Crack a window and come have coffee with me in the kitchen.

- I really need to finish this first, Lorelai insisted. - I have like a week's worth of work to catch up with.

- You'll get nowhere if you don't give yourself even a five minute break to clear your mind, Sookie reasoned. - Besides, William's bound to be hungry soon, anyway.

Lorelai sighed, but did as she said. Problem was that while she wanted nothing more than to take a break, she feared that once she had one, she'd be even less inclined to go back to work. She loved her job, which was one of the many reasons why she'd had the dream of opening an inn of her own for such a long time. But today her mind did not want to focus on work and drifted to many non-work related, very naughty thoughts, all of which involved a certain backwards baseball-cap wearing man who happened to make the best coffee in the world. As the room began to feel very hot in addition to stuffy, the idea of fresh air became more tempting. And she could feel the effects from the lack of proper caffeine intake was having on her. Maybe if she had some coffee, she'd have energy enough to suppress the thoughts she was having so that she could get her work done and get back home to him.

William protested mildly when she picked him up, but made no more objections when Sookie handed him a baby biscuit to nibble on. There was no doubt that this woman came prepared for any scenario. Once Lorelai put him down in his high chair, Sookie immediately mashed up some carrots that she'd obviously boiled before she'd gone to fetch Lorelai. She then handed the bowl to Lorelai who tested the temperature against the back of her hand. Satisfied that it was not too warm, she began to feed her son, who clearly was beginning to get hungry, just as Sookie had predicted.

- See, now, Sookie stated. - Doesn't this beat locking yourself away in your office?

- Pretty much anything beats sitting in my office, tearing my hair out trying to balance the budget, Lorelai pointed out, dryly. - But unless I make a cut somewhere, that's what I'll be doing the rest of the day.

- You don't even have a hint of a solution, Sookie asked, sympathetically.

- Well, there's one thing I keep falling back on, Lorelai admitted. - But you're not gonna like it.

- Hey, if it gets you out of that office and out into the world, whatever it is will pretty much be worth it.

- No, I'm serious, Lorelai insisted. - You're really not gonna like it.

- Why, Sookie asked suspiciously. - Is it one of my things?

Lorelai chose not to answer.

- What? Okay, now you need to tell me.

- We have to cut lunch, Lorelai sighed.

- Cut lunch, Sookie asked, sounding as though Lorelai had suggested putting her dog (if she'd had one) to sleep.

- Well, since the drop-off, Lorelai started. - Our lunch crowd has been slowing down, but the cost in both food and workers has stayed the same. We're starting to go into the negative in the books. I know numbers make you dizzy, but we both know what red numbers means.

- B-but _drop_, Sookie stuttered. - That's so drastic.

- We're paying a full kitchen staff and ordering tons of food and we maybe get three to five lunch guests and that's if we're lucky, Lorelai pointed out.

- Then, let's drum up a lunch crowd, Sookie suggested, desperately.

- We're not a traveling circus from the fifties, Lorelai remarked.

- Then what if we operate on half a staff, Sookie asked. - I can manage with just _two_ workers.

- That's still a bigger expence than we can afford right now, Lorelai reasoned. - If I don't say it now, then our financial advisor will not too long from now.

Sookie stared at her for a long time before finally giving in.

- Fine, she sighed. - But don't blame me if we all of a sudden have a hungry mob at our doors at lunchtime and no food to serve them.

- I'll do anything. I'll gladly walk a mile on burning hot coal if it means I can put that budget behind me, Lorelai sighed.

- I'll let you out of that one, Sookie promised. - But why don't you tell me what else's up?

- What'd you mean?

- Come on, Sookie said, pointedly. - We both know there's more to this mood than a simple budget issue.

Lorelai sighed. As Sookie had pointed it out, the intense ache from before had returned and her head began filling up with suggestions on how to satisfy that ache. She felt as though she was going crazy. Sookie was staring her down, but Lorelai couldn't help but glance over at the kitchen staff surrounding them. This was really not a conversation she wanted to have with her employees present.

- Well, she began, feeling uncomfortable already. - You know how it'd been a while since I last... um... played the saxophone?

She wondered if anyone besides Sookie had noticed her hesitation. The kitchen staff seemed to be busy with their tasks. None of them had at least moved or acted in any way that suggested they had heard and interpreted what Lorelai had just said. Sookie looked a little lost at first, but surprisingly quickly she seemed to be catching on.

- You mean you haven't had time to... play, she continued, keeping up with the code. - _Still!?_

- No, no, Lorelai stopped her. - I've played. Most definitely played.

- Then, what's the problem?

- Well, since I started playing again, Lorelai continued, the code beginning to feel all matters of stupid. - I now can't stop thinking about playing... saxophone... all the time. I keep... hearing music in my head.

Sookie smirked, but everyone around seemed to not have followed the conversation, much to Lorelai's relief. You had to be really dumb or oblivious not to catch the hidden message in the conversation.

- As in the jamming kind, Sookie asked, wading the waters.

- More like a full fledged symphony, Lorelai described.

- Do they have saxes in the symphony, Sookie pondered.

- Sookie, focus, Lorelai pleaded. - This is a serious problem. I can't concentrate on my work.

- Okay, focusing, Sookie promised. - I think there's a simple solution to this.

- What?

- Take care of it. Take a break and play a couple of rounds on the saxophone.., Sookie explained, her lips curling into a smirk as she added. - I'm sure the saxophone won't mind.

- _Sookie_, Lorelai exclaimed, not sure what to respond.

- Well, why not?

- Because I can't afford to take anymore time off, Lorelai explained. - The pile of things to do is growing so quickly, it would have multiplied by the time I got back.

- Okay, then do a quick melody on the harmonica, Sookie suggested.

- I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that, Lorelai responded, shaking her head over where this conversation was heading.

- Oh, isn't this cozy, Michel's annoyed voice said from the doorway.

- Hi Michel, Sookie greeted him. - Lorelai and I were just discussing... um... musical instruments.

- Like I care, the man said, dryly.

- Is there something you need, Lorelai asked, deciding to get to business.

- While I'm sure the two of you are very busy drinking your coffee and chit chatting, he said in that oversweet tone he used to illustrate his annoyance with the both of them. - I thought I should let you know the Krumholtzes are here...

- The who, Lorelai asked, confused.

- The Krumholtzes, Michel repeated. - Two hyper, sugar-crazed kids and their parents. They are staying in room ten and both their windows are stuck. I tried finding Parker, but the man is not only slow and sloppy, he's obviously deaf as well. I don't know why you hired him as the handyman.

- It was between him and having no handyman, Lorelai argued.

- Well, we are practically without one already, Michel pointed out. - And if we do not fix this soon, we can add 'sauna' to our list of things we offer.

- Why don't you call Luke, Sookie suggested.

- Oh great, Michel muttered, dryly. - We're missing a handyman, so why don't we call the hobo.

Knowing there was no changing him, Lorelai decided to ignore Michel's Michelness and grabbed the phone.

- You've got a better idea, she challenged him.

Michel wisely shut his mouth. While Lorelai talked Luke into leaving the diner in Ceasar's hands for an hour, the annoying frenchman rolled his eyes and walked back towards the lobby. Normally it was not a tricky job to talk Luke into something, no matter how much he dreaded it, but Lorelai calling him had happened at one of the more inopportune times of day, seeing as it was right in the middle of the lunch rush. Luckily he caved before she had to turn to her Louis Armstrong voice and told her he'd be there in less than half an hour. In the meantime she went and greeted the Krumholtzes, apologized for the inconvenience and offered the family lunch on the house.

Luke arrived exactly five minutes before he said he would. Lorelai had just been to the bathroom and changed William's diaper and was on her way back to the kitchen, when she spotted a familiar figure in the doorway.

- Hey, babe, she greeted him, giving him a light peck on his lips before gesturing for him to come with.

- Hey, he replied. - I promised Ceasar I wouldn't take too long, so where's the window you were talking about.

- Windows, Lorelai clarified, but pointed up the stairwell. - Room ten, you need me to show you?

- No, he shook his head. - I can manage. I'll come by the kitchen when I'm done.

- Okay, she nodded, leaning up to kiss him one more time before letting him get to work.

As she watched him go up the stairs, her eyes kept darting to his butt and her head began filling again with all manners of naughty thoughts. If she'd been horny before, she was now going crazy from sexual frustration. How on earth was she supposed to get back to work in this state?

Half an hour had passed before Luke popped his head through the kitchen door.

- Both windows have been fixed, he announced. - Anything else you need before I go?

Sookie raised her brows and gave Lorelai a significant glance that simply couldn't be misinterpreted. She reached over and took an unsuspecting William out of her arms. The boy protested being taken out of his mother's arms without his expressed permission, but settled quickly in his auntie's arms. Lorelai bit her lip, her mind racing on whether or not to seize this golden opportunity when her mouth made the choice for her.

- Actually, she heard herself say. - There's a little problem you could help me with.

- Okay, Luke nodded. - Where?

- My office...

TBC

_AN: Remember to pop in to Dirty Comfort to catch some office smut in "Playing the Saxophone"._


	115. Casual night at the Gilmore Mansion

AN: Merry Christmas, everyone. By the time everyone reads this, they should've celebrated Christmas :) It's the 25th of December and not only is it Christmas Day, which is, from what I've heard, the day the people in the US celebrates Christmas (In Norway it's on the 24th), but this is also the day when CF turns 20 months. Aww, my baby's growing up... lol. And still, it's not done, not by a longshot (I hope this is happy news and not something to cause groans amongst you). Many thanks to Steph for the beta and I hope you all had a wonderful holiday :)

**windsong09** - Comments like this is always something that lights up my day. Welcome to the story and I hope you will stick with me until I reach the end :P

**smileyGGfan** - The saxophone code is my own invention, but it felt like something Lorelai would say so I went with it. And Sookie's as much into talking about everything bed-related in the show as well :) LMAO on the suggestion of Mrs. Gleason and Mr. Kim. You've given me some disturbing images... lol

**Gymtig** - Well, it was implied that there was gonna be something other than window problems in the office ;)

**Copop** - YAY! A live review! Talk about something I've missed like crazy and you have NO IDEA how big of a grin I had on my face after reading it. Never stop, I tell you :) Well, William is 8 months old now, so he is definitely getting bigger. I just saw my nieces and my cousin's kids and how big they've gotten and it's just happening so fast.

* * *

- So, I was thinking, Lorelai said, as they once again were facing the intimidating front door of the Gilmore mansion. - Why don't we just skip dinner this one time and go catch a movie or something? The BWR is showing The Breakfast Club and if we turn around right now, we might still make it there before we miss any of the significant parts.

- It didn't work the first five times you suggested it, Rory calmly pointed out. - And it's not going to now.

- Come on, we're talking John Hughes here. Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Molly Ringwald; the very legacy of my generation. Lastly whose performance in 'For Keeps' was seriously underrated.

- If you're so set on watching the movie, we can rent it when we get back.

- But it's not the same as seeing it up on the big screen.

- I wouldn't necessarily make a BWR viewing of the movie equivalent to watching it on 'the big screen', Rory objected. - There's been TV's made bigger than that screen.

- It's bigger than our tv, Lorelai argued.

- Bottom line is we're not bailing on grandma and grandpa just because you're on the outs again, Rory decided.

- Not on the outs, Lorelai began, then shrugged. - I dunno what we are, but I bet you it can't be good. Mom hasn't called to reprimand me for leaving without a word, yet. I've never seen her _not_ lash out at someone after fighting with dad. And by someone I, of course, mean me; the black sheep of the Gilmore clan. It's usually a sure sign she's up to something.

- Well, only one way to find out, Rory shrugged, finishing her statement by ringing the door bell.

- You are not the fruit of my loins, Lorelai said with a scowl.

- I'll make it up to you by buying you coffee, later.

- Luke's rarely charging me for it as it is, Lorelai stated.

- Fine, ice cream then, Rory said, rolling her eyes. - Just be a good girl and go through that door.

- Do I still get ice cream if I walk right out again, Lorelai tried.

Rory merely answered that with a look. What felt like minutes passed and there was no answer. Rory furrowed her brows and glanced over at her mom.

- That's weird, she stated.

- Should we take this as a sign that they're not home, Lorelai said, hopefully.

- Maybe they just didn't hear it, Rory reasoned, ringing the bell one more time.

- We could still make it back before they leave the library, you know, Lorelai reminded her.

- We're trying a couple of more times, Rory stated, firmly.

A creepy silence overcame them as they continued to wait.

- Maybe she killed him and buried the body in the back yard, Lorelai guessed.

Rory shot Lorelai a look.

- I'm just saying, Lorelai shrugged. - She could be in Tahiti right now for all we know, living the life of a fugitive.

- This is not a joking matter, Rory said, pointedly.

- Who are you and what have you done with my daughter?

Startling both of them, the door suddenly opened, revealing a confounded looking Richard.

- Gah! Dad, you scared me, Lorelai panted, holding her hand over her chest.

- Lorelai, Richard said, confused, turning over to his grandchildren. - Rory... William... what are you...

- Friday Night Dinner, Rory reminded him.

- Oh, right, Richard said, but still appearing a bit... distant.

It was then Lorelai really took in the full appearance of her father. It wasn't that he looked untidy or anything, because for the untrained eye he seemed like any other well-groomed businessman, but there were little things, little touches to his appearance that suggested he was unfocused. His bow-tie was slightly crooked. There were a couple of creases in his suit, barely noticeable, but still there. Lorelai even reached out and picked lint off his jacket.

- Dad, uh, she began, looking around, taking in the less tidy state of the manor. - Where's the maid?

- Oh? I don't know, he shrugged. - Emily must have fired her, I think.

He turned around, walking towards the living room. Lorelai leaned to Rory.

- Where's mom, she whispered.

- I don't know, Rory replied in the same hushed manner. - Did you see the bow-tie?

- I know, Lorelai nodded. - Even _I_ could tell it was crooked.

- He looks miserable, Rory pointed out.

- Eh, William said, obviously wanting to be included in this little discussion of theirs.

They quietly followed Richard to the living room, sitting down, while he fumbled around with the drink cart.

- Oh, he said, as he'd poured a drink. - Did you want ice, Lorelai?

- I'm good dad, Lorelai assured him, underlining it by reaching out to accept the drink.

Richard mixed two more drinks, handing one to Rory, who only took a sip before looking up at her grandfather.

- Um, grandpa, she said, awkwardly. - I think you put alcohol in mine.

- Oh, I'm sorry, Richard muttered, jumping up from his chair, taking back Rory's drink, mixing her a new one.

They sat quietly and sipped to their drinks. Not even William said anything. Finally Lorelai just had to ask.

- Dad, where's mom?

- Oh, I'm not sure, he shrugged. - Italy, I think.

- Mom's in _Europe_, Lorelai asked, confused. - And we didn't know about it?

- She was in quite the hurry, Richard shrugged. - She left on Saturday.

- When is she coming back, Lorelai wanted to know.

- I'm not sure.

Lorelai had to ask.

- _Is_ she coming back?

The minute she'd said it she felt Rory's elbow hit her side.

- _Ow_, she yelped, rubbing the spot with her free hand, while glaring at her kid.

- Insensitive much, Rory hissed.

- Well, someone had to ask it, Lorelai shot back in a low voice.

Richard on the other hand didn't seem to have caught a single word of the exchange.

- Oh, right, he mumbled. - Dinner. I'm afraid I do not have much to offer you girls, as I have a feeling Emily also fired the cook before she went. At least I haven't seen either her or the maid in the past week.

He frowned.

- Nor the gardener, when I think about it, he continued, now more talking to himself than to anyone else. - I suppose I ought to do something about that, as well.

- You need any help with any of it, dad, Lorelai asked.

Although she knew deep down that Richard had brought this whole thing upon himself, she couldn't help but feel guilty about his predicament, as she'd been the one to accidentally bring this secret of his into the open. Her mother, when angered was nothing less than a force of nature, so the fact that the entire staff had vanished over night did not surprise her one bit. In fact, she'd be more surprised if her mother hadn't at least done something.

- Oh, that's alright, Lorelai, Richard told her. - I believe I'll manage.

- Really dad, I want to, Lorelai insisted. - I was a great help with getting the office up and running, wasn't I?

- Well, I suppose I could use some help acquiring a new maid, Richard gave in. - I believe we were using some sort of agency, but I can't for the life of me figure out what it was. Emily always took care of it.

- I can always give you the number of the one I used when I was hiring for the Dragonfly, Lorelai offered.

- That would be nice, actually, Richard said, gratefully.

- Oomph, William uttered, stretching both his hands out towards his grandfather.

Lorelai complied with her son's wishes and handed him off to his grandfather. This seemed to brighten Richard's spirit, as he seemed to forget all about his worries and instead focused entirely on the eight month old sitting in his lap. William reached up and grabbed a hold of the older man's mustache, tugging on it, as if to test if it would come loose. Knowing how uncomfortable it was when William tugged on her own hair, Lorelai wasn't the least bit surprised when Richard reacted by wrinkling his nose and pulling his head back. The boy not really ready to give up just yet, responded by grabbing onto whatever he could of his grandfather's clothing and slowly pulled himself up to a wobbly stand. It didn't take many seconds before he'd fallen back down onto his butt, Richard's arms preventing him from falling further.

Lorelai tensed up, expecting him to start crying any second, but surprisingly enough the boy simply sat in Richard's lap, looking a bit confounded. His eyes met hers and his eyes were almost asking; 'mommy, what just happened?'. Then he realized the mustache was once again within his reach and he grabbed a hold of it again. Lorelai chuckled at the sight.

- Face it, dad, she laughed. - He's as stubborn as a Gilmore, you might as well let him tug at it until he gets tired of doing it.

Luckily for Richard it didn't take too long before William's attention was diverted and he started exploring the funny buttons on Richard's shirt while mumbling incoherently to himself.

- I am sorry that I don't have much in terms of food, Richard apologized, as he checked the time. - You girls must be getting hungry.

- Just a little bit, Lorelai shrugged, not feeling like covering up the fact that she was starving.

- I'm sure there's something in there we can whip up, Rory said, optimistically.

- Better yet, Lorelai stated, eagerly. - There's always take-out.

- Ooh, good idea, Rory said, approvingly.

- What are you in mood for, dad, Lorelai asked, already looking up local eateries in the yellow pages. - Let's see... we've got ourselves Mexican, Italian...

- Indian, Rory suggested.

- Sure, if he wants to burn down the house, afterwards, Lorelai pointed out.

- Fine, Rory sighed.

- Greek, Chinese, Lorelai continued as she ran her finger down the list of ads. - And for those who don't view Vegetarianism as extreme enough, we also have Vegan. All of which state here that they deliver within an hour.

- Good deal, Rory nodded, approvingly.

- And unless someone here suddenly is overcome by the urge to eat something not even deemed fit to be called rabbit's food, I'm gonna nix Vegan off our list of possibilities, Lorelai decided.

- Oh, shoot, Rory muttered, pretending to look disappointed.

- So, do any of you have any specific inkling, or should we just go with Chinese?

- Chinese works for me, Rory agreed.

- Dad, Lorelai asked.

- Huh? What, the older man asked.

- Chinese for dinner, Lorelai suggested. - That sound good to you?

- Well, I suppose that's okay, Richard shrugged.

- Rory, you wanna do the honors, Lorelai asked, holding the phone out.

The teen nodded, taking the phone with her out to the hallway. Richard was busy playing with his grandson, who now had his eyes set on the fancy cigar humidor standing on the end table. Lorelai hoped for both their sakes that Richard didn't let him have it. Luckily the man seemed oblivious to the fact that William had his eyes on anything particular.

- He's growing quite fast, isn't he, Richard observed.

- Too fast, Lorelai agreed. - I'm afraid that I'll blink and all of a sudden he'll be nineteen and going away to college.

- He'll make a mighty fine Eli, Richard stated, proudly.

- Let's not settle on that just yet, dad, Lorelai pleaded, not wanting to have yet another ugly fight with him about whether or not Yale was the superior of the Ivy League schools. - I mean, I haven't even managed to decide on what daycare to send him to, let alone college.

She skillfully avoided mentioning how she felt it was important that William decided for himself where he wanted to go, whether it was the Ivy Leagues or somewhere else.

- Oh no, Richard chuckled. - We have time.

Lorelai let out a breath that she didn't even realize she was holding.

- He's what... seven months now, Richard guessed.

- Eight, Lorelai corrected him.

- Are you sure?

Lorelai didn't know what to make of that reply. Surely he wouldn't forget his own grandson's birthday, right?

- I think I remember what day it was that I pushed a living breathing baby out of my uterus, she said, pointedly.

- Okay, people, Rory said, returning to the room just in time to break the tension. - The food's on its way and will be here in about half an hour.

Deciding to let her annoyance with Richard slide, Lorelai flashed Rory a smile.

- Great, she told her. - I'm starving.

- Good thing I ordered enough to feed an army, then, Rory quipped, taking a seat right next to her.

- So, will I be seeing a lot of you this weekend?

- Well, that depends on the offer, Rory shrugged, playing hard to get.

- Cider Mill's opening tomorrow, Lorelai suggested. - Big parade and free cider to one and all.

- Did you memorize the leaflet or something, Rory teased.

- I know, Lorelai sighed. - I think repeating the damn thing to everyone I passed on the way to work made it stick. But it should be fun. Patty's dressing her girls up as apples and I just know a couple of them will trip or something. That alone would make attending it worthwhile.

- You won _me_ over, Rory shrugged.

While the restaurant had told Rory thirty minutes, the door bell rang after merely twenty, much to both Lorelai and Rory's joy. William, who'd just been fed his very own dinner, paid very little attention to the food that his mother and sister was carrying into the room. Richard, however, couldn't keep himself from staring.

- Good gracious, he uttered. - Who could eat all this?

- Well, we, of course, Rory replied, matter-of-factly.

- But this is far too much food for three people.

- Do not underestimate the effects famine can have on us, Lorelai stated. - Besides, it's not more than what you have the cook prepare every other Friday night.

- Well, yes, Richard agreed. - But then we have her heat it up for later.

- So do we, Lorelai pointed out.

- The wonders of microwaves, my friend, Rory added with her mouth full, having already snuck herself one of the cartons as a little pre-dinner snack. - Put the plate in, press a button and voila, two minutes later you have yourself a meal.

- If you want, we could always give you a quick crash course in heating up leftovers, Lorelai said, as she grabbed a pair of chopsticks and one of the cartons.

- I better go get us a couple of plates, Richard stated, taking in the sight of the many cartons of food in front of him.

- There's no need, dad, Lorelai insisted. - By the time we get the dining room all set, the food will be cold and seriously, what's the good in that?

- Plus, Rory said, in between bites. - It tastes better directly from the container.

- Well, Richard said, only slightly reluctant. - Then I better try it out.

- Good choice, Rory commented.

- Hey, here's a crazy idea, Lorelai suddenly said. - Why don't we just push the table aside and just sit on the floor?

- Ooh, Rory merely replied.

Even William seemed affected by his sister's bubbling enthusiasm, not even knowing what it was all about. The only one not seeming to keen on the idea was Richard, which didn't exactly come as a surprise. Normally Lorelai wouldn't even have made the suggestion, but something told her she had her dad on a roll and that maybe, just maybe he would be open to doing things a little differently, even if it was just this once and never to be mentioned again. Together, she and Rory pushed the table out of the way before making themselves comfortable sitting on the carpet. In addition to that, Lorelai kicked her shoes to the side, letting herself enjoy the liberating feeling of being able to wiggle her toes. While they did that, Richard remained sitting on the couch, stuck somewhere between raising his brows in confusion and frowning at the display in front of him.

- Grandpa, come on, Rory pleaded.

- Why do you girls want to sit on the floor, when we already have a perfectly good couch that we can use?

- It's more fun this way, Rory insisted.

- Yeah, Lorelai agreed. - Plus, this way I can let William crawl all he wants without feeling I can't look away for even a moment's worth.

- So, you do this thing often, do you, Richard enquired.

- Not as often as we'd like, Rory shrugged.

- We do it when we have our movie nights, Lorelai argued.

- But we haven't had many of those lately, Rory pointed out.

- Well, mainly because you all of a sudden got really busy with Yale, Lorelai pouted. - And now... well, now I'm really busy breaking in the new staff at the inn.

- Plus the remodeling isn't helping, Rory added. - As it pretty much eliminates our only movie night location.

Lorelai tensed up immediately as Rory said it. It wasn't that she'd explicitly forbidden Rory to mention the remodeling, but she'd at least assumed that Rory recognized this to be something she didn't really want to involve her parents in. Her plan had been to let them find out in their own time once the room was finished, painted, furnished and inhabited. And then, if they asked about how she'd financed it with just having opened up her own business and what she'd done while the construction had taken place, she would have cooked up some good cover story. With the whole debacle over announcing William's paternity to the town, she and Luke had come to a mutual agreement that whenever it happened that Emily and Richard got informed of their relationship, they would not reveal right away that in addition to dating their daughter, Luke was also the father of their only grandson.

Lorelai knew her parents and Luke had heard enough to know that they weren't the most understanding people and they would most definitely interpret anything they were told in the worst possible way. She could just imagine the field day Emily would have if she learned that not only had they not been together at the time when William had been conceived, Luke had also been dating another woman (at least technically, since Lorelai was sure the initial ask-out had happened before their little drunken adventure). A woman that he'd also ended up marrying during a three week cruise. If she also added the little detail of how she hadn't even let him know he was a father for the first six months of his son's life, they most definitely wouldn't be scolding _her_ for doing it, but they'd rather use it as some kind of 'proof' that she thought of Luke to be an inept father, when in reality nothing could be further from the truth.

It wasn't that she was stupid enough to believe they would embrace him and call him 'son' the minute he walked through the door (had she had normal loving parents with a healthy set of values, then it'd be more likely), however at least he'd stand the same chance as any other guy to grow on them.

- Remodeling, Richard stated, surprised. - You're remodeling?

- Yeah, I'm adding another room to the house, Lorelai shrugged. - For William.

- But I thought you just launched your own business, Richard recalled. - How are you affording it? I hope you didn't hire just anybody for the job. You won't believe the insurance nightmares I've seen when people use poor contractors to help them remodel. In most cases their property value decreased immensely and they had to spend tens of thousands of dollars just to get the mistakes fixed.

- Don't worry, dad, Lorelai tried assuring him. - Tom really knows what he's doing. He's the one who did the whole construction on the Dragonfly for me.

- Where did you say this room was, Richard asked.

- It'll be across the hall from my bedroom, Lorelai told him.

- Hmm, Richard mumbled, pensively. - I'm not so sure how good all the commotion is that good for him. Not to mention the dust and paint fumes. Babies are likely to develop allergies and various airway obstructions if exposed to such things over longer periods of time. I hope you are not staying there while these men work at your house.

- Don't worry dad, Lorelai assured him. - I've barely even been by the house since the remodel began.

- Then, where do you sleep, Richard wondered.

- The inn, Lorelai quickly answered, then after giving herself about ten seconds to think out what to say next, she continued. - I'm practically there all the time, anyway, and at the moment we always seem to have at least one or two rooms available at all times.

It wasn't that she was directly lying. After all, she had slept at the inn as a result of nodding off in her office and she did spend a lot of her time there and she wasn't even lying about the vacancies, either. She was merely listing facts, leaving it for Richard to connect the dots. He didn't seem to completely approve of her implied temporary solution, but he didn't appear that eager to argue anymore about it.

- Seriously dad, Lorelai said, as Richard still hadn't joined them on the floor. - The floor doesn't bite, you know.

- The carpet's real soft, too, Rory added.

Maybe it was Lorelai's joke, maybe it was Rory using the eyes on him or maybe it was because William had grown bored out of sitting on his grandpa's lap and was struggling to get out of his grasp, but Richard looked between them for only a couple of seconds before giving in, stepping out of his own shoes, taking a seat next to them. Lorelai reached out, grabbing one of the take-out cartons and handed it, together with a couple of chopsticks, to Richard, while putting her own down, freeing up her hands to greet William who was at that moment crawling towards her.

The boy squealed as Lorelai picked him high up in the air, kissing the top of his head and hugging him, but almost immediately struggled to have her let go, so he could crawl some more.

- Hey, did I mention Michel's babysitting again, she asked, putting her son back down.

- Please tell me you're joking, Rory begged, shaking her head at the mere idea. - I mean, this is the guy who managed to roll Davey underneath the bed.

- Well, as his new charges are seven and nine years old, I'm pretty sure they are able to object to being rolled anywhere, Lorelai shrugged.

- But still, it's Michel, Rory pointed out. - He's gotta be the least kid friendly guy there is. How did he land the gig?

- Apparently he's their favorite out of all of the people on the staff.

- Have they met Michel..?

TBC


	116. An offer she will regret

AN: Happy last day of 2007, people. Have a fun new years eve, people, I'm hoping to get my sore throat healed and plan to stay in and do my traditional nice and quiet celebration with something good to eat and something fun to watch. As usual, many thanks to Steph for the beta.

**glo1196** - I mostly respond to comments I have something to say about, so it's not intentionally that I respond to some people more than I do others, like you've observed me doing. Sometimes this is a new reviewer, sometimes it's someone who's been reading since I began posting and sometimes it's something inbetween. Those who are pulled up to the spotlight over and over again are usually people who regularily gives me input I have something to say something about.

**Copop** - sighs Another live-review. A girl can get used to this, you know. How is it that I can give a title that's straight forward and you interpret it to be the complete opposite? Man, this gushing makes _me_ want to go back and read that chapter. The Michel-thing was a just a random conversation subject that Lorelai remembered to mention and at the same time a little trick of mine to underline which episode we've reached in season 5 (if anyone remembers the little boy and girl who dragged poor Michel to the Cider Mill parade). And lastly, why did you expect Luke to be there for FND at all?

**cywen69** - I wouldn't say a wildman, just someone who demonstrates a little bit more willingness to partake in something that Lorelai and Rory loves to do. And thank you, my Christmas was great.

**mudgielovesgilmoregirls** - I have no idea what kind of phone that is, but glad it lead you to the story :) And ER will find out in their own time. I have it all planned out :P

**GGjunkie33** - Very nice to have you back and thank you so much for taking the time to comment on the individual chapters, I really appreciate it :)

**smileyGGfan** - Aww, I love babies. I just wish there was a device that made it possible to think out alternative episodes for shows and then make the pictures and sound for it appear on a computer, cause then I'd make sure we got a baby William on the show. Inventors out there? Start inventing, okay?

* * *

It didn't take many days from when she made the offer to help out until Richard called to take her up on it. Originally, when he called on Tuesday morning, he'd pretty much expected her to drop everything right that second, as the agency she'd given him the number of had just called him back to let him know they could accommodate his wish to send people over right away for interviews. Lorelai first had to remind Richard that unlike the agency, which had dozens, if not hundreds of people at their disposal, allowing them to follow his every bid, she simply couldn't take a whole day off from work without prior notice. Truth be told, it was a bad idea to take a day off at all, with everything that needed to be done, but when she'd offered, she'd offered. There was no taking it back. She could tell Richard was not too happy to hear this, but after she promised him to reschedule his appointment with the agency for him, he agreed to postpone it to Wednesday, instead.

She could already tell that this favor might turn into something she'd later regret doing. It wasn't that she didn't want to or that she didn't like helping her father out when he clearly could use any help he could get. Not at all. But while he was a well-respected and looked up to man in both the business world and in the upper class society, Richard could at times resemble a small child. Not only could he be helpless in even the easiest of tasks, but he also had this notion that the world was there primarily to accommodate his every wish and didn't always comprehend that sometimes this just wasn't doable.

Come Wednesday morning, Lorelai only had time to make a quick stop at the inn before rushing off to Hartford in order to make her appointment with her father. The Richard who opened the door this time was much more focused and well-groomed than the one they had met on Friday. He still lacked what could only be the 'Emily' touches of his appearance, and she could still sense a slight 'little lost boy' vibe from him. However, the bowtie had been straightened, the lint had been absent and the man could almost pass as the Richard she was used to seeing. Almost.

- Lorelai, he said, delighted, but then furrowed his brow, confused. - Where's William?

Lorelai felt like smacking her own head when Richard pointed out the absence of his grandson. Seeing as it was just an ordinary weekday and according to their pre-thought up schedule it was Luke's turn to take William for the day, Lorelai had merely kissed her son (and boyfriend for that matter) goodbye as she left for work after breakfast. That she brought the boy to Friday Night Dinner was mere routine, but to bring him every time she was to see her parents outside their arranged weekly dinner had completely slipped her mind.

- Um, she muttered, panicking, blurting out the first plausible excuse she could find; - Rory's watching him.

- I thought you said she was busy, Richard said, confused.

Originally the plan had been for Rory to tag along with Lorelai to help her grandfather out, but before Richard had called to schedule his appointment with the girls, the Stars Hollow Gazette had offered her the chance to do a freelance piece on a Horse Show taking place over in Woodbury, where two horse owners from Stars Hollow were participating. _Why else would the Stars Hollow Gazette cover a Woodbury event_, Lorelai mused. The two girls had spent a few good hours the day before snickering over the kind of names the poor horses had been given by their respective owners. Lorelai had even pointed out that if the horses moved in a certain order, the commentator's words could be mistaken as code for something _very_ different. To which Rory had informed her mother that she'd mistaken Horse Show for Horse Race. Lorelai still thought her joke applied, though. Safe to say, when Richard had called, there had been nothing they could do as Rory simply couldn't miss a single journalistic opportunity, no matter how silly they both deemed it to be.

- Well yeah, Lorelai nodded. - Busy watching William for me.

It was a lucky thing they hadn't said specifically what Rory was busy with. Richard didn't seem entirely convinced and Lorelai had a feeling he'd point out that Rory could've done that at the Gilmore estate as well, thus allowing Richard to spend time with both his grandchildren.

- We thought it'd be better if they didn't come with, Lorelai skillfully continued her fib. - This way we'll have no interruptions of any kind. I mean, you remember how William liked to move around on Friday, right? If I'd brought him along, he'd be with me one minute, the next he'd want to go to you and he wouldn't be content to just sit still while we did the interviews. Plus he's a bit shy around strangers and he'd just be stressed out, so I asked Rory to watch him for me.

Lorelai sometimes amazed herself with her canning ability to talk herself out of a tricky situation. It wasn't that she'd entirely convinced Richard, but it had been enough for him to let the subject be dropped and let his daughter in the door. It was far too early to really see the consequences of not having someone to tidy the place up, but little things stood out, probably because the rest of the time Lorelai had been in that house in her adult life, Emily had made sure the place was clean enough to pass the white glove test. There was a circle of dust on one of the table lamps to her right, only visible because it laid on a dark surface. The ultimate first rule of decorating, unless you were willing to dust it frequently, buying dark (especially black) furniture was generally considered a bad idea. In the Gilmore estate this was no problem, as it seemed to Lorelai that the house was cleaned daily. _Luke would probably have a rant or two about how environmentally sound that is._ Of course it would take longer than a week for the dust to be noticeable, but as electric articles had a way of attracting dust, Lorelai wasn't surprised to see it. Plus they were more talking two weeks as Emily probably had fired the help on Friday after the fateful dinner.

- So, dad, Lorelai said, breaking the silence that had come over them since she came in. - What's on the agenda, today?

- Well, interviews for a maid, cook and gardener, Richard informed her matter-of-factly.

- All in one, Lorelai joked. - Or do we prefer if people hone their individual skills and hire one of each?

- Well, I supposed a maid and cook combination would come in handy, Richard sad, oblivious to the joke. - Though it's not a requirement.

- Alright, I'm guessing the maid and cook are first, then, Lorelai assumed. - So what do you want to ask of them?

- Well, past experience is important, Richard decided.

- Of course, Lorelai agreed. - Anything else?

- Well, that's where you come in, Richard told her. - What do you usually do?

- At the inn, Lorelai asked, receiving a nod. - Well, we ask them to tell us a little bit about themselves and if we like them we put them to the test...

She paused, realizing that without a maid in the house to do the grocery shopping, the fridge was more than likely empty or close to it. She simply couldn't imagine Richard wandering in a market with a shopping basket, searching through vegetables, the meat section, or picking out cleaning supplies.

- I guess you haven't been grocery shopping, she sighed.

- I have been eating out every night, Richard said, obviously not quite following her.

- Which means we don't have supplies to test them with, Lorelai clarified.

- Oh, Richard shrugged. - Well, I have faith you will find someone most suitable.

_We_, Lorelai wanted to say. _We'll find someone suitable._

- If you excuse me, he said as he checked the time on his wrist watch, turning and heading off in the direction of his office.

- Where are you going, Lorelai asked, already knowing the answer.

- Oh, I promised to give a client of mine in Dallas a call, the older man, explained.

- But.., Lorelai only managed to say before the door to his office was shut closed and the doorbell rang.

Sighing, Lorelai had no other choice than to go answer the door. The other side of the door revealed a fragile looking girl. While in any other hiring situation Lorelai wouldn't think much of this particular part of the first impression. Truth be told, she didn't look much different than some of the maids Lorelai had hired for the Dragonfly and while they were new and every new employee had to be broken into the routines of any new job, she didn't have a single complaint so far. Here, however, her first thought was; '_she's not gonna last_'. Of course, this thought was based on her experience with how her mother treated the maids, but as Emily was elsewhere for an undisclosed time, Lorelai decided to give the girl the benefit of the doubt and asked her to come in.

While Richard claimed he only had a few errands, it more seemed like he was merely checking up on the progress while otherwise working a normal day. When his call to Dallas was through, there was Chicago, San Francisco and as the day continued, he began conversing with his international clients. And for every time he vanished into his office, Lorelai got more and more aggravated and as her mood worsened, she unintentionally let her interview subjects take the hit. She'd found a maid she liked and was between three well-recommended cooks and was in the middle of interviewing gardeners, something she knew next to nothing about. At least she'd _been_ a maid, herself, and she loved to eat (as well as having two chef's as friends, one of which was also her lover), so the first two were something she could somewhat relate to.

Worse was that she was getting hungry, having been too busy with interviews to eat. And a hungry Lorelai was a crabby Lorelai to say the least. All in all, it was all adding up and when Richard emerged from his office one final time, Lorelai had just sent a prospective gardener home in tears. Like she'd predicted before even stepping a foot inside this house, she was regretting making the offer in the first place. What really bothered her was that everything she'd been doing that day had been something Richard could've done himself with no problems, had he simply taken the time off to do it.

- How are we doing here, he asked in a cheerful tone.

Lorelai more than anything wanted to give him her full opinion of this stunt he'd pulled, but knowing that unlike with the poor guy who'd just left the place in tears, she would have to deal with her father again and again for years to come and she didn't want more grief with him than she already had. So she answered him in the calmest voice possible.

- I found a maid, she reported. - Her name's Karen and she'll be here promptly at eight, tomorrow, per your request. And I got the names of three cooks that I wrote down for you, here, but no gardener.

- Ah, well, Richard shrugged, patting her on the shoulder, as if he meant to console her. - There's always tomorrow.

She should have expected that there would be no 'thank you' or a 'well done' at the end. After all, when was it last that her father had shown even the slightest bit of appreciation towards her? He was either tolerating her presence or scolding her for something she'd just done or something she'd done a good twenty years ago. And she wasn't about to complain about it, either, as she was simply used to it by now. But that last word caught her attention.

- T-Tomorrow, Lorelai stuttered in disbelief.

- Well, yes, Richard nodded, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. - We can look into these three cooks of yours, maybe even have the maid shop for supplies and do that test thing you suggested. And then in the afternoon we can look into finding a gardener.

- Dad, Lorelai sighed, trying to find the right words to let him down delicately, seeing as she would have to see him again the day after tomorrow. - I can't come here tomorrow.

This, of course, caught Richard by surprise and he looked at his daughter, confused.

- I have to work, she added.

- We all have to work, Lorelai, Richard pointed out, obviously not seeing what the big deal was.

- It's a new business, dad. I can't take two days off in a row, Lorelai elaborated. - I shouldn't even be taking _one_ day off, right now.

- No one was forcing you to do this, Lorelai, Richard said in a slightly stern voice, obviously feeling as if she was accusing him of having pressured her into doing this favor for him. - It was you who made the offer.

_Which you only too eagerly took me up on, even though it wasn't anything you couldn't have done yourself_, Lorelai thought to herself.

- I know, dad, she sighed. - And I was happy to help, for _one_ day. But I always meant to go back to work tomorrow.

- Oh, Richard said, in a silent, almost hurt voice.

_Just like a little kid_, Lorelai thought, shaking her head in frustration, feeling the sudden urge to tear all her hair out, but resisted it.

- Names and numbers are on the list, there, she said, pointing to it. - Do you want me to go through it with you before I leave?

- No, that's alright, Richard brushed her off.

- I don't mind, she insisted. - I don't want to make things difficult for you.

- Don't worry about me, Lorelai, Richard told her. - I'll manage if I have to.

She'd been prepared for the lack of gratitude and recognition, even somewhat expected the cold shoulder when Richard had brought up the idea of her coming back to continue this the next day, but this self-proclaimed martyr status of his, it really was the last drop.

- Unbelievable, she muttered, a little louder than she'd intended to.

- I beg your pardon?

She tried counting to ten, tried reminding herself that nothing good would come out of losing her temper with him, but nothing seemed to do it as the words she was trying so hard to hold back started spilling out of her mouth.

- You know, I offered to help you out because I was worried about you, she ranted. - And _maybe_ I did feel a little bit guilty for how I caused mom to find out about your secret lunches, since, even though you really brought it upon yourself, this was how you ended up in this situation in the first place. And even though I couldn't come running the second you originally wanted me to, I did all the work required to reschedule the appointment for you, I took the day off from work. Then the minute I come here, you just disappear into your office, claiming you _had_ to make this one call.

- It was an important call, Richard argued.

- Except it wasn't just _one_ phone call, Lorelai pointed out. - While I've been running this whole thing for you, you've pretty much been working like usual.

- I have an important job, Lorelai, Richard reasoned.

- So have I, Lorelai countered. - Or does the term 'launching a new business' mean nothing to you? I have staff still learning the ropes, piles of paperwork growing faster than I can get them done, guests to pamper up and beyond the call of duty, expenses that need covering, employees that need paychecks, banks who want their money back and investors looking for profit. And I'm doing this while tending the needs of an eight month old and catching a glimpse or two of my kid in college. The last time I took a day off, ironically enough to recover from working too much, I literally had to work until I dropped just to catch up with everything that'd been piling up. And _still_ I did it for your sake.

She was so angry that she was literally shaking as she stood in front of him.

- And what's worse is that it seems I've done it all for no reason, she continued. - Everything you've had me do today have been things you'd have no trouble doing on your own, if you'd just bothered to take the necessary time off to get it done. I've been interviewing maids, cooks, not to mention gardeners. I have absolutely no clue about gardening and what makes a good gardener. I'm not even fit to look after a potted plant, ask Rory, she'll let you know all about it. She's been tending to our plants ever since she was big enough to carry a watering can. Before that any green thing would be lucky to survive a single week. Call me Lorelai, the plant slayer, cause handing me any living plant is like sentencing them to death. And even though I know a few odd things about the other two, it doesn't make me the right person to choose someone to look after _your_ house and cook _your_ meals. And while I didn't expect for you to show your gratitude or point out a job well done, this sulky demeanor when I refuse to put in a second day makes you more resemble a spoiled two-year-old than the sixty-plus year old man you really are.

Lorelai knew the minute she let those last words slip from her lips that she'd crossed a line. Richard's expression was merely confirming her assumption.

- I would appreciate it if you leave now, Lorelai, he said in that calm, stern voice he'd used whenever she'd gotten into trouble as a teen. - I will not stand being spoken to like this in my own house.

Lorelai was only too happy to acommendate this particular wish of his. Without saying a single thing, she walked straight to the front door, closing it behind her with a bit too much force than she intended to, making it seem like she'd slammed it shut on purpose. She sat in her jeep for a couple of minutes in the driveway calming herself down. She should've known that whatever it was that had in the end persuaded Richard to take part in one of her and Rory's many silly notions wasn't going to last long. But despite her experience telling her otherwise, she'd had a small flicker of hope that this time around, maybe due to Emily's absence, Richard would be a little more appreciative of his other family. Was it really too much to ask for, not even a 'thank you', but a look or some other way of expressing gratitude?

TBC


	117. Organized Chaos The new Olympic Event

AN: Man, that took a little longer than I would've liked. But I made like two videos and wrote a one-shot between the last chapter and this. No, I'm serious, so I think that counts as a good excuse for how long it took to get this chapter up. Happy New Year, everyone. Hope you all handled going back to the real world from vacation land well. I was tired, but I somehow managed. And as always a big hug and lots of kisses to my beta, Steph, who honestly is the Luke to my story :)

**smileyGGfan** - The way I see it, Richard is used to those things being handled for him, because Emily has the run of the house. And it's not the first time he's prioritized his own work ahead of his family and he also figured that with Lorelai offering to help that she wouldn't mind. I just wanted to use this chapter as a catalyst to look into the many aspects of Lorelai and Richard's relationship, because I don't think we got too many glances at it on the show, a few episodes here and there, but mainly they focused on Lorelai and Emily's relationship, which I also plan to take a look at.

**glo1196** & **cywen69** - Love your similar descriptions of Richard and your words about men and women. You're both very right and it's not just men viewing women a certain way, but women, too. My grandma always used to thank my dad for everything, despite the fact that mom had been the one to do all the work, which used to frustrate mom to no end, because grandma would expect her to do something, but always thank him for it. But grandma grew up at a time where this was the norm and I don't think she ever got to understand the true modern woman.

**lancer1993** - No, neither Emily or Richard knows Luke's William's dad.

**JavaForever** - It's reviews like yours I live for and I believe you might have the record in how quickly someone read this story. I'm out of what else to tell you other than thank you!

**Gymtig** - To point out Richard's view on this. He trusted Lorelai would handle it without him and saw no point in wasting his day sitting by her side when he had clients waiting. And I agree with you on the Luke-thing. I think Lorelai would be more frustrated if she didn't have anyone to come home and rant to.

* * *

- Mom? Don't you think you're being just a tad childish?

It was ten to six on Friday night, but instead of getting ready, Lorelai was sitting by Luke's kitchen table in a pair of very comfortable dark maroon sweats and a simple black tee. Declaring that she definitely wasn't ready to see her father again already two days after the fight, Lorelai had informed her daughter (and Luke) that she had no intention of going with her to Hartford that day, which was why Rory had driven by to pick her little brother up, since even though Lorelai wanted some distance from Richard, she was not going to cheat him out of quality time with his own grandson. Rory, of course had been given the cliff notes version of the fight and the cause for it, while Luke had gotten the whole story in form of an almost never-ending rant, one that could give the patented Luke Danes rant a run for its money.

- Nope, Lorelai said, calmly, focusing entirely on getting her baby boy ready to go. - I don't particularly feel like seeing him and I'm pretty sure he could do without seeing me as well.

- All he has is us, Rory tried again. - He has no idea where grandma's at and he's probably feeling guilty as hell about that. Isn't he at least a little bit entitled to be unreasonable?

Lorelai efficiently ignored the question. Instead she reached for the wet cloth that William had been using as a chew toy fifteen minutes earlier to wipe away the drool that was running down his chin and pooling on the clean shirt she'd just put on him.

- You might want to change his shirt when you get there, she said, instead. - And put a bib on him, cause man, today this one's been perfecting his Old Faithful impression, let me tell you.

- Luke, Rory asked in a desperate attempt. - Can't you talk to her?

- You know better than I that once your mom has her heart set on something, there's nothing we can do about it, he pointed out, as he on signal from Lorelai packed an extra change of clothes and diapers into William's baby bag. - Plus, which one is she more likely to listen to out of the two of us?

- And what am I supposed to say when he asks why you're not coming, Rory demanded.

- Tell him I had to work, Lorelai shrugged, bouncing her slightly moody son on her knee, as she slipped on him a thin summer jacket.

She'd noticed some days ago that another tooth was coming in, this time in his upper jaw, but it wasn't really until that morning that the boy had had any change in his mood. William had woken up crying around four in the morning. The trusty teething gel from last time had worked its wonders and allowed the boy to go back to sleep again, but the disruption of his daily rhythm had ended up throwing his whole day off and had affected both his mood, not to mention his appetite.

- I believe you were the one to tell me I can't lie to save my own butt, Rory pointed out. - What makes you think I can lie to save yours.

- Remember to pack the teething gel, Lorelai reminded Luke, who at the last minute threw it in before zipping up the bag, before she turned her attention back to Rory. - Behold the massive pile of paychecks behind me that I have to go through, verify and sign, all of which should have been done on Wednesday when they actually found their way to my desk, but I didn't discover until this afternoon because the inn was crazy and Michel was... well, Michel. Trust me, I'll be working.

- Do you know where his teething ring's at, Luke asked.

- Check the fridge, Lorelai suggested.

- Found it, he said, with his back still turned to them, slipping the last item into the bag. - Oh, and is the car seat still in the jeep?

- I didn't remove it, at least, Lorelai shrugged.

- You want me to install it for you, Luke asked Rory.

- Um, sure, Rory replied, obviously a bit spun around by the organized chaos surrounding her.

- Okay, Lorelai said, as Luke vanished out the door. - If he gets cranky, try the teething ring first. Or if you get the chance, a cold wet cloth's really the best thing. But if nothing else helps, use the gel, put a little bit on your finger and rub it gently over the white flesh where you can spot the tooth that's coming in. Try your best to have him eat at least half the jar that Luke packed, or else he'll be waking up hungry in the middle of the night. And don't forget the bib, because trust me, Niagara has nothing on your baby brother.

- Mmgah, William grumbled.

- Hey, Lorelai soothed him, kissing his slightly warm forehead. - Don't you want to go see your grandpa?

William turned his head around and stared at his mother with those deep blue eyes of his.

- Amah, he muttered, sticking his thumb into his mouth.

- No, Lorelai chuckled, kissing him one more time. - Mama's not coming with this time, but Rory's here to take you.

Ever since William had started showing signs of talking, Lorelai had made more a habit out of pointing people and objects out to him whenever she talked about anything to him, so while she knew William was more than aware of who Rory was, Lorelai still pointed to her, when she mentioned her name.

- She's been looking forward to it all day, Lorelai continued in that sugary sweet voice she used whenever she talked to her baby boy. - Haven't you, Rory?

- Yeah, Rory nodded, playing along. - All day.

- So, what do you say, Lorelai asked her son. - You wanna go with Rory?

The little boy seemed to almost ponder her question for a moment before he reached his two hands up towards his sister, who gladly picked him up. He was instantly fascinated by Rory's shoulder length hair, which she unwisely had chosen to wear down for the day. Feeling sympathy for her daughter, Lorelai got up to help her free her hair from William's grasp, then handed her a hair band to pull it up in a ponytail. William looked almost offended when the hair was no longer within his grasp, so as a way of distracting him, Lorelai grabbed one of the toys from the dishwasher and handed it to him.

- You and Luke really seem to have the whole team parenting thing down, Rory pointed out.

At first the comment took Lorelai by surprise, as she and Luke had pretty much been operating as a team for several weeks now, but then she remembered that this was the first time Rory's been to see them in action at the apartment, since, whenever mother and daughter had hung out, they would stay down in the diner (after all, that's where the food and the great coffee was) or they would be at the inn, the mall or some other more public locations. Lorelai hadn't been by to visit her at Jess' place and Rory hadn't until today been by the apartment, despite Luke telling Lorelai she could. It just didn't feel natural for either of the girls to do so when the other didn't officially live where they were currently staying.

- I guess we do, Lorelai said in a poor attempt to act casual.

- Mom?

Lorelai looked up, just waiting for her daughter to point out her obvious severe lack of acting talent, at the same time mentally preparing a snappy comeback for it.

- You look happy, Rory said, instead.

If possible an even bigger grin made it to her face.

- I am, kid.

The timing perfect as always, precisely that moment was when a spatter of drool made it down William's chin, making a dark, wet patch at the front of Rory's new blouse.

- Oh, Lorelai cringed, bouncing up to retrieve a new cloth from the top of Luke's closet, as the one she had was too wet to be of any use. - Here he goes again.

After handing the new one to Rory, she went over to her own to find her daughter something new to wear. When Rory realized this, she objected.

- Mom, I'm gonna be late enough as it is.

- Trust me, Lorelai called from inside the wardrobe. - By the third time he does this, you'll be wishing you thought of it, yourself.

- You know, Rory called back, as Lorelai reached into the wardrobe and retrieved a simple black tunic. - The more William does these things, the less I want to have kids.

Lorelai placed a kiss on William's temple, before she reached for the baby bag to put the garment in it.

- Good boy, she told him. - Keep it up for a couple more years, will you?

- Baah, William replied.

When they heard Luke come back up the stairs, Rory grabbed the bag from Lorelai and prepared to leave.

- Everything's ready, Luke informed them both as he came in.

When he noticed that Rory and William were both ready to leave, he made sure to place a kiss to William's forehead.

- Bye, buddy, he told his son, softly, then nodded to Rory. - Bye, Rory. Call if either one of you need anything.

Lorelai chuckled softly as she noticed how Luke, Mr. I-have-no-patience-for-jam-hands, himself, was even more of a mother hen than she was. Having already said goodbye to her son and knowing that overdoing it was more likely going to upset him more than anything else, she gave a simple wave as Rory went out the door, only reminding her about the bib before she was out of earshot. Luke looked after them before he went back into the apartment and closed the door behind him.

- What, he asked, when he noticed her staring.

- Nothing, Lorelai shrugged, casually. - You're just so cute.

Luke pretended to be annoyed, but his eyes gave him away. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms firmly around her waist.

- I am _not_ cute, he objected, calmly.

- If you say so, Lorelai said in that tone that let him know he hadn't won.

Like many times before when Luke lacked a response, he leaned down and kissed her, which in Lorelai's opinion was much better than any other response he could come up with. She slipped her arms around his neck, holding him close for a couple of minutes before allowing them to break the kiss, still remaining close, afterwards.

- Rory said I looked happy, she murmured, her forehead resting against his.

- Are you, Luke asked, despite there being no need for him to.

- Can't complain, Lorelai shrugged, giving him a teasing wink to let him know that she really was.

Luke chuckled and gave her a soft peck on the lips before loosening his grasp on her.

- Want me to make us something, he asked, gesturing to the stove.

- What do you have in mind, she asked.

- Whatever you want, he shrugged.

- See, she grinned. - This is why I keep you around.

- Good to know, he chuckled.

After finally getting her to decide what she wanted, Luke went over to Doose's to get everything he needed, while Lorelai began going through the papers she'd brought home. Being an efficient shopper, it didn't take many minutes until Luke was back and unloading everything on the counter. While he worked the stove, Lorelai would glance up every now and then just to watch him go at it for a couple of minutes before returning her focus to her work. She read through time reports, compared them with the hours each worker was contracted to do, calculated overtime and double- and tricple checked everything before putting her signature at the bottom. It wasn't that it was hard work (unless you were someone who got dizzy and stressed out whenever dealing with numbers), but it was time consuming and one of the most boring aspects of her job. Later, when the Dragonfly became more established, the plan was to contract with an accountant or possibly an accounting firm to handle that for them. But until then, it was on her shoulders and her shoulders alone and the desire to give into her rebellious nature and simply play hooky was in many ways almost impossible to resist.

- Why did I open my own place, again, she asked, loudly when she reached the fifteenth paycheck, not sure if the question was more directed to herself or to Luke, whose cooking was currently making the entire apartment smell heavenly. - Call a judge, I want to plead insanity.

She heard Luke chuckle and she sent a scowl in his direction.

- I'm buried in paycheck hell over here, she exclaimed. - And all you can do is laugh? What kind of a boyfriend are you?

- What do you want me to do, he asked. - You've been dreaming about this for as long as I can remember and you've been talking to me about it for as long as I've known you.

- I want you to build me a time machine so I can go back in time and tell myself not to go through with it.

- Fine, I'll dig out my old flux capacitor and get right on it, he deadpanned.

- _Where we are going we don't need roads_, Lorelai giggled. - I always did want a Delorean.

- Sorry, Luke countered. - I only work with Jeeps.

- Spoilsport, Lorelai pouted.

He chuckled, pulled one casserole off the heat before taking a seat next to her, looking her directly in the eye.

- The long hours, the stress, the excessive paperwork, he listed. - It's all just temporary. In a few months time you'll be glad you did it.

She glanced suspiciously at him.

- I thought you said it took the diner a whole year before it got fun, she reminded him, recalling a chat they'd had back when owning her own inn had merely been a dream.

- It doesn't mean the Dragonfly will take a whole year, he pointed out. - It's not written in stone anywhere. But what does it matter how long it takes? In the end it'll all be worth it.

- I guess, she sighed. - But right now I have a big case of really not wanting to do this. I'm tired and cranky, and I'm hungry.

Luke chuckled, got up and kissed her forehead.

- Now that I can do something about, he told her, heading back to his cooking. - Just give me another ten minutes.

- Fine, Lorelai sighed, heavily, gazing at the stack of papers in front of her begging for her attention. - I'll just starve to death in the meantime.

- Glad to hear you're not being overdramatic, Luke said, dryly.

While Luke put the finishing touches on the dinner, Lorelai was having a staring contest with the pile of papers, which was an accomplishment in itself, she thought, as paper had no eyes to stare with. When Luke started to set the table, Lorelai decided it was time for a break and packed it all away. When Luke put down the two bowls of pasta on the table, her tummy gave a loud rumble, the regular kind was placed on her side and the healthier kind, that she vowed to avoid like the plague, in front of himself alongside a bowl of steamed vegetables. Then came the mandatory meat sauce, and lastly the heavenly torn cheese to go on top and the hollandaise sauce that Lorelai had begged him to make. She helped herself to the pasta, adding a nice portion of meat sauce in the middle of the small bright mountain, sprinkling a large portion of cheese, which began melting the minute it came in contact with the rest of the food. But when she poured about half of the hollandaise sauce on top of that, Luke couldn't keep still.

- That's disgusting, he remarked.

- Yes, Lorelai agreed, happily, taking a big bite out of her food. - It's a completely disgusting combination, but with the most addicting taste.

- And here I thought you couldn't get worse than your cravings.

Lorelai laughed and responded by taking another big bite, this time moaning to underline her enjoyment. Then she dipped her fork into the mountain that was her food and held it out to him.

- Wanna try it, she asked, knowing the answer before even asking. - I swear, this tastes a lot better than it looks.

- No thanks, he said, shuddering. - Right now I'm having a hard time comprehending how you talked me into making it in the first place.

- Well, because I'm irresistible, of course, Lorelai pointed out, matter-of-factly. - And it helps that I never take no for an answer.

- If only you could realize what all this crap you're eating will do to you, Luke sighed.

- Careful, Luke, Lorelai teased. - I believe the last person who said that before you was Jim Fix and you know what happened to him.

Luke groaned.

- Why do I bother, he asked, obviously directing the question towards himself rather than her.

Deciding she was done taunting Luke for the evening, Lorelai continued her meal without the hand gestures and sound effects, and even refrained from commenting on Luke's rabbit food. Beginning to feel full, the intervals where Lorelai's fork would make it to her mouth grew further and further apart and she began noticing exactly how quiet the apartment felt without William there for the evening.

- Do you think dad remembered to feed them, Lorelai wondered out loud.

Luke looked up, obviously puzzled by her bringing it up.

- Didn't you say you found him a cook, he asked.

- Possible cooks, Lorelai corrected. - I found three possible cooks and gave him the names and numbers, but who knows whether or not he actually went with it. For all I know they might be doing a repeat of last time, sitting on the floor, eating Chinese food directly out of the cartons.

- Well, then it's a good thing Rory likes Chinese food.

Lorelai didn't say anything, which Luke seemed to be surprised by.

- Do you wish you'd gone with them, he wondered.

- No, Lorelai answered almost immediately, but she didn't sound as convincing as she'd like to be.

It wasn't that she wanted to go, but there was something about the idea of Rory and her father having a little repeat of the previous week that made chills go down her spine. It wasn't the first time she envied her daughter's relationship with Richard. When she'd been a kid, herself, her father had rarely given her the time of day. He'd never made any effort to spend any time with her and in the beginning she'd done about everything to make him proud of her, to make herself worthy in his eyes, then eventually when she never got the recognition she'd hoped for, because she wasn't the quiet little cotillion girl that her parents had wished for, she'd given up on getting in good grace with her parents. Maybe it was selfish of her, but she'd found a bit of comfort in how her father hadn't shown more interest in young Rory than he had with young Lorelai. He'd humor her at best, shower her with expensive gifts she neither wanted nor had any use for, but he never listened.

Or, at least until after they started coming to Friday Night Dinners and Emily had lured Richard to take Rory golfing with him. All of a sudden her father was giving Rory all the attention, all the praise in the world, everything that Lorelai had so desperately longed for, but never ever received. And while she was happy that her daughter got to have such a close relationship with her grandfather, especially with how her own father never seemed to have any time at all for her, she couldn't help but feel a stinge of jealousy whenever something reminded her on how her father would never look at her the same way he looked at Rory.

Most of the time she managed to be fine with it. She'd known for a long time that there was nothing she could do to get into her father's good grace, but it still hurt to be reminded of it. More so whenever she and Richard had another falling out. To get the cold shoulder from her own father and at the same time see him be so praising and so genuinely interested in what Rory had to say, it was unbearable. And that was the main reason she couldn't come to dinner tonight. It wasn't her anger, it wasn't her stubbornness. It simply was the only way she could think of protecting herself from another blow she wasn't sure she could take just yet.

- Lorelai, Luke asked, concerned. - Are you okay?

- Yeah, Lorelai croaked, her voice giving her away.

- If you want to talk about it...

- Honestly, Luke, she sighed. - My dad's probably the last thing I want to be thinking about right now.

- So, you're still... angry, he enquired, but sounding as though he meant to use another word than 'angry' in his question.

- Just, she sighed. - Just distract me with something, okay? I don't care what you do; tell me something, make it up if you have to, or do something, like kiss me senseless, or... dance conga naked with a banana on top of your head. Anything fun, anything to keep my mind of my severely lacking relationship with my father.

Luke seemed to take a moment to formulate a response.

- Conga.., he finally asked, raising his brows.

Lorelai chuckled, shrugging, visually letting him know she was open for suggestions.

- Well, he said, taking the hint. - It's not conga, but here's something that might cheer you up; Tom called me earlier.

With the jungle of weird temporarily taking over Lorelai's brain, it took her a couple of seconds to grasp what Luke had said. Once she registered the contractor's name she was all ears.

- He wanted to tell us that the room's almost done. It's still messy and they're doing the finishing touches to it, but he said we could come by tomorrow if we want to see it, or Sunday if we'd rather do it while no one's there. Tom also said something about paint samples, so they know which color to paint it in.

- No, Lorelai quickly said.

- What, Luke asked, confused.

- I don't want them to paint it, she explained.

Luke still looked like a question mark, so she knew she had to elaborate.

- I want us to paint it.

- Aw geez, Luke groaned, his tone of voice reminding her how much he loathed painting.

- Luke, come on, she pleaded. - This is our son. This is what parents usually get to do before the baby's even born. They prepare the nursery, pick the color, paint and furnish, filling it up with toys and baby things and make it all ready until the baby comes. I don't want to miss out just because we went the more untraditional route with the whole thing.

- Lorelai, Luke sighed, his voice already revealing that she was on her way to convincing him.

- Luke, please, she pouted. - You know how much I love painting.

Luke looked at her for a couple of minutes before finally giving in.

- Fine, he sighed.

She grinned and kissed him.

- Thank you, she murmured.

- Feel better, he asked her.

- Much better.

TBC


	118. Paint, yes, we love paint!

AN: A little later than I had hoped, but blame a ski-trip with my work, the headache I got when I intended to take a little me-time to write on the chapter and how I stupidly managed to send the mail to Steph _without_ attaching the actual chapter. So it's delayed, but it's here. And tomorrow I'm gonna make a fool out of myself going to the pre-rounds for the "Norway's got talent" audition... lol wish me luck. 

AN2: I swear to some kind of higher power, all the colors mentioned below are actual colors. Many thanks to Steph for the beta and an additional thanks to Debbie for helping me out when I got stuck, see hon, one of those suggestions did eventually make it into the final cut, even if it didn't seem so at the time.

**smileyGGfan** - Well, it will not be overlooked here, that I can promise. And the painting will bring more than just comedy ;)

**rollsdownhill** - He always is, even when he's mad at her, he can't let himself not comfort her.

**GGjunkie33** - Well, it's my theory on how their relationship might have developed. They only let us have minor bits of the past, so it's up to us to fill in the blanks.

**Copop** - Just wait when more of his 'words' are revealed. I have a list ;)

**lizzy** - If I say 'no comment', I just know people are gonna start acting like tabloids who assume they see a baby bump whenever some celeb is slumped over in the wrong angle and their shirt hangs on them the wrong way, so instead I'm just gonna remind you all that this is also the woman who stuck Foie Gras on a pizza once and she likes 'disgusting, yet addictive' tastes ;)

* * *

- Oh, for the love of.., Luke groaned as Lorelai held yet another paint sample up against the wall.

It was the diner color scheme discussion all over again, only amplified by a larger deck of paint samples. How on earth could there be this many shades. Did people really need all this variety? And why, oh, why did the paint people feel the need to get so damn creative with naming all of them? Half weren't even describing the color in question, like, who in their right mind would guess 'Gleeful' was a very light green? Wasn't yellow supposed to be the big cheery color? Or that 'Lauren's Surprise' was a blue tone... Who the hell was Lauren? How was he supposed to know what was so surprising about her? Or that 'Inner Child' was a light shade of pink? Maybe that was true for some people, but he was damn sure that the majority would strongly disagree. His inner child, at least, sure as hell wasn't pink. And then there were the colors whose names were directly misleading. Like 'Sweet Orange', which one would think with the name, at least would resemble the color, but turned out to be yet another pink tone. And of course 'Black Swan' was a purple. Of course, what kind of an idiot was he for not knowing that..?

And then there was how the company that provided the massive color palette that Tom had left behind for them to browse through claimed to offer 1400 different colors. What made them so sure that no two out of the massive palette was identical to one another? Did they have someone look through them all and compare each of them to the other colors in the bunch? Like check the first one against the 1399 others and then check the next up against the remaining 1398 and so on and so on? And while they'd been at it, had they lined up all the colors after one another and counted them all up and _that_ was how they knew they had 1400 different colors to offer? As if painting wasn't painful enough on its own.

Luke had honestly not seen the challenge in picking out a color for the room. It had all been pretty obvious to him. After all, William was a boy. Boys meant blue. Nice and simple, nothing to it, right? Oh, so naive. The discussion had, of course, started with blue, only with about a hundred different shades of it to choose from. And so the questions began. Did they want more of a light, sky blue to fit with the whole nursery theme thing? Or were they with William growing up and very soon entering his toddler years about nine months too late for that? Would a dark blue, like say indigo fit more into a growing boy's room? Or would the resulting lack of lighting make it depressing and unwelcoming? Trying to correct said problem, they moved on to the shades in the middle, but many of them felt far too strong for a room where a person was supposed to be sleeping in. Sure, strong colors were supposed to be stimulating for a baby's mind, but Luke had a feeling those statements had not been made with nursery colors in mind.

For each new color either of them brought to the table, a new discussion was sparked, resulting in the color being vetoed and thrown into a pile with the other discarded colors, the reasons varying. Too light. Too dark. Too plain. Too strong. Too boring. Too vivid. It was like taken out of a nightmare. In fact, Luke was pretty sure his next dream would involve him being chased down the street by gigantic paint blobs, and he usually had very mundane dreams. An hour later, he was ready to give up. It seemed like no one shade was gonna cater to both interests. He tried floating the idea that they could do the nursery color scheme for a while and repaint sometime in the future? Granted he wasn't an expert on what parents usually did, seeing his other close example was Liz, who one couldn't exactly deem to be any close to the norm, but didn't parents usually stick with the nursery color scheme for years before repainting?

His suggestion had been shot down, of course. Lorelai refused to just settle on a color, she wanted to find the _right_ one. For Luke the color didn't matter so terribly, like it did for her. This didn't mean he was without care for how his son's room would turn out, but for him it was other things than just the color that made the room. After all, the color wouldn't say a thing about who William was, except point out his likely gender. Likely, because more and more girls had started to embrace blue in favor of their old friend, pink. What would transform this empty room into William's room was going to be books that were going in the bookshelves Luke planned to make him, the picture frames that would go on the wall and what went into them, possibly alongside some posters when that time came along. It was going to be the toys in the boxes and the toys outside the boxes for that matter. It was gonna be the sheets on his bed, once he grew out of the crib. It was gonna be what the boy did with the room, the marks he would put on it, some of them known and some of them not so much. Luke envisioned a few accidents, or possibly experiments with markers, some of it removable and others being more of the permanent kind.

He still remembered his grandmother's coffee table, where Liz during their many visits when they'd been little had laid on her back underneath it, practically drawing a mural on the underside with their grandmother's many crayons. He wasn't positive that anyone besides Liz and he knew of this work of art. The table had been of really dark wood and it'd had a two inch edge around the underside of it, so one couldn't accidentally have a peak at the masterpiece unless the table was to be turned up-side-down, something you didn't want to do unless you absolutely had to, as it was a very heavy sort of table. He at least couldn't imagine his great-aunt June, who'd been the one inheriting it from his grandmother upon her death, doing it, or whoever it had been passed on to after she died a few years later. But if they ever were to, boy were they going to be in for a surprise.

- How about this one, Lorelai asked, holding a lilac sample up against the wall.

It seemed that Lorelai had gotten more random with her suggestions than she'd been in the beginning. After declaring that she was getting nowhere with blue, she'd moved on to green, which had almost taken as long as blue to get through. Almost. She'd been by red, which had been over almost as quickly as it'd started. The darker shades were too strong, too energetic and the lighter shades had been far too pink. Yellow and orange had been nixed pretty quickly as well, neither one of them being very easy on the eye when they were supposed to be splashed onto all four walls. Brown had been nixed because, 'who in their right mind wanted a brown nursery'? And gray was not even an option.

Luke simply shot Lorelai a look to ask her if she was actually being serious as a response to her question. Purple in itself didn't bother him, if it was the blue-ish kind of purple and not too light. He could definitely deal with a purplish blue, but lilac definitely did not fit that description. It was too... pink for his taste.

- It's not pink, Lorelai shrugged, as if she was reading his mind.

- It's close enough, he responded. - Besides, I thought we both agreed that we wanted blue.

- Blue's not being cooperative, Lorelai pouted, throwing the lilac sample into the pile with the rest of the rejected colors. - I'm not getting anywhere with it.

- And you think throwing random colors out at me is gonna solve it?

- I don't know, she groaned, tugging on her hair with both hands. - Gah, I'm so tired.

- Come on, he said as he got up, reaching his hand out to her, trying to ignore his tail bone aching from sitting on the hardwood floor for the past couple of hours. - Let's get some fresh air.

- No, Lorelai responded, pulling her hand out of his loose grasp. - If I go now, all of this will have gone to waste. I can not leave this room until we at least have picked a color.

- I'm not saying leave for good, Luke said, annoyed. - Just for a couple of minutes, to catch a break, get some oxygen flowing to our brains.

- So crack a window, Lorelai suggested.

Luke groaned, leaning back against the unpainted wall. This was going to be one of those never ending days. Granted, most of the time he didn't care what he was doing with her as long as they did it together, but this was one of those days where he pondered what it was he saw in her. Those days were actually farther between than one would think and usually didn't last very long, either. Unless he was genuinely mad at her, then it could maybe take him a day or two, depending on the cause. But usually all it took was a look, a smile, a flip of her hair and the tiny, almost miniscule doubt in his mind would evaporate instantly and he would be reminded of the many things that outweighed her impossible nature by tenfolds.

- I'm sorry, she sighed. - I just have this feeling that if I take my mind of this for even just a second, we'll have to start over again from scratch and we'll end up getting nowhere.

- We're not getting anywhere as it is, Luke pointed out, getting aggravated.

- You know, we should really have had William here, then he could've picked his own color.

Luke had been the one to insist on not taking the boy with them when they went to see the room. After all, the Crap Shack was very much still a construction site in his mind, and the less unnecessary dust and other particles the boy was subjected to before the age of three, the better. Luckily both Sookie and Jackson had been home and had agreed to look after William for as long as they needed them to. Luke had told them they'd be back in an hour, to which Jackson had given him a meaningful look, as if saying 'no, you won't'. Now, with the walls around him almost seeming as they were closing in on him and the pile of discarded paint samples, Luke was beginning to believe the look from the younger man had been one from experience. God knows how long he and Sookie had argued before settling on how to decorate Davey's room.

- He's eight months old, Lorelai, Luke reminded her. - He's genetically engineered to grab the brightest color in the pile and put it in his mouth.

- At least then we'd have a color, Lorelai sighed.

- We'd have that now, as well, if you could just pick one, Luke shot back.

- I don't want to just randomly pick a color, she explained.

- Just ten seconds ago you said you wanted William to pick the color.

- Well, yeah, Lorelai shrugged, obviously not seeing where he was going with this.

- But picking a color yourself is out of the question because...?

- It wouldn't be fate, she insisted.

- Unbelievable, Luke muttered under his breath, feeling a headache brewing due to the stuffy air in the room. - Just close your eyes or something while you do it.

- But what if I pick the wrong one?

- What if William picked the wrong one, Luke countered.

- He wouldn't.

- Eight months, Lorelai, Luke reminded her. - His color perception is Sesame Street, not Monet.

- No, that's not what I meant, Lorelai shook her head. - I meant; it's his room, so as inhabitant of said room, he can't pick a wrong color for it.

- So, he said, taking a moment or two to form his question. - If you by chance picked 'lilac' out of the pile, it would be the wrong color, but if William by chance picked the exact same color, it wouldn't be?

- It'd be his choice, Lorelai nodded.

- Then, when he comes up to us in say four or five years and complains that his room has a girly color, we're gonna what? Tell him; 'sorry, but we had you pick your own color when you were eight months old and that's what you picked'?

- As opposed to; 'sorry, but daddy told mommy to pick a random color from a pile and that's what we ended up with', Lorelai shot back.

Luke groaned as he buried his head in his hands, rubbing his temples as an attempt to relieve the tension that was causing his headache to build up. There were so many ways he could point out to her that his intention had merely been to prove that William picking the color was just as random, maybe even more prone to disaster than Lorelai picking it with her eyes closed. But as it wouldn't help them get closer to an actual solution, nor would it help improve either mood, more like the opposite, he just didn't feel it would be worth it. In fact, for the next ten minutes or so, they didn't talk at all. Luke continued to rub his temples for a couple of minutes, before getting up and following Lorelai's suggestion of opening the window to let some fresh air flow into the room. The headache didn't seem to be going away anytime soon, but the fresh flow of oxygen felt good, nonetheless.

He leaned back against the wall, his eyes closed for the first couple of minutes, but eventually he reopened them and gazed down to the floor where Lorelai was still sitting. What he now saw was that in the time he'd taken to get his headache under control, Lorelai had split the pile of colors into two smaller piles and was currently sliding various samples of blue around on the floor. It seemed fairly random, the colors spread out in a mixture of lighter and darker tones. He noticed that they were all shades they had vetoed simply because they only fulfilled one of their two main criteria; make the room suitable for a baby while also reflecting a room fit for a growing boy. Then as Luke observed Lorelai sliding two particular nice shades of the color, he was suddenly hit by inspiration.

- Okay, he said. - Suggestion; how about we don't choose _one_ color.

Lorelai looked up at him, instantly ready to object.

- We choose two, Luke finished.

- Two, she asked, raising her brows.

- Yeah, we pick a light shade of blue and then a dark one to go with it, he continued, already noticing Lorelai's eyes lighting up at the suggestion. - I mean, the only reason we haven't been able to settle on a specific color has been this whole light versus dark debate, so why not just combine it? We can, for example, make the bottom in the half dark shade and the top half in the light shade.

Lorelai didn't answer immediately, which worried him a little, since she usually was very quick in her response.

- Or if you don't like it, we can do it some other way, he suggested, thinking that maybe she was discouraged by his specific solution as to how they could apply both colors.

- No, she shook her head, vigorously. - I like it. I like it a lot.

Luke was dead sure he'd never before in his life felt as relieved as he did then. Or maybe that one time when it'd become clear to him that Lorelai felt the same about him that he did her, which had been when he'd kissed her and she hadn't slapped him, but rather kissed him in return, however right now he couldn't bet on it, he was just that relieved.

It felt like the last piece of the puzzle had finally fallen into place. It took less than five minutes after that to pick which two shades out of about forty different options they were going to go with. Lorelai also jotted down the name of two additional colors, but when asked she would only say that one of them were for the trim and the other was going to be a surprise. Luke simply didn't bother to protest, figuring he could save that argument for when she finally let him in on what this, for now, surprise was going to be.

The room's modest size and Luke's wish to be able to walk more than two steps into it put a damper on some of Lorelai's furnishing ideas, but by the time hunger got the best of the both of them, they had settled on the basics; a wardrobe, shelves (which Luke planned to build himself) and toy boxes. Lorelai also managed to talk him into the idea of getting a couple of bean bag chairs and some pillows to make a cozy story telling corner. Then a regular lamp and a nightlight was added to the list before Lorelai finally wrote 'miscellaneous' at the bottom of it to make room for possible ideas that might pop up while perusing the stores. Luke had a feeling that last item might turn out to be the real heavy investment, knowing Lorelai's knack for going over the top whenever shopping, the result of her helping him buy Rachel a birthday present coming to mind. If she could come back with ten plus bags when buying a present for a woman she barely knew, then Luke didn't even want to imagine what shopping for her own son might entail...

TBC


	119. Perfect imperfection

AN: Okay, so many appologies for taking so long. I hate commuting, I have to work long days, so that I can get a decent weekend and the long days are exhausting to say the least and all of last week I didn't have energy to do much of anything except sit and watch television. But a three day weekend at home did me good and my energy level went up again. For anyone of you who wondered about that audition, well, first the judges were impressed enough to give a 'maybe', but eventually that maybe turned into a 'no', but I'm happy. I went for it and did my best. 

AN2: As always, many thanks to Steph for the beta and for finding that manual for me. And also thanks to Debbie for your thoughts and the help with my baseball research. I feel enlightened... lol.

**smileyGGfan** - Hey, better late than never :) In case your googling didn't help give result, on the color chart I used for the chapter, Lauren's Surprise is a very light blue.

**JavaJunkie93** - Hopefully this comes as a good reward. I don't know what else I can give ya ;)

**karose10** - They're not gonna blend the colors. They will paint the top half light blue, then with the help of painters tape to ensure a good edge, they will paint the bottom half dark blue.

**cywen69** - I'm sorry to hear that. Hopefully you won't think the same of the following chapters. I can say a dirty chapter will come around in not too long, but I won't say when.

**Jeremy Shane** - Although I haven't covered that part, now that it's no longer secret for the town, Jess knows (after all, he's dating Rory). With Emily and Richard, all I'm gonna say is; patience grasshopper.

**Copop** - I went with my Gollum immitation and followed up with the hen and rounded it off by asking the judges to cover their ears as I did the seagull. The site I went to at least claimed to have 1400 colors, though I didn't count ;)

* * *

The alarm buzzed and Luke almost immediately stretched his arm out to stifle it. It had become a habit of his to turn the alarm off before the third buzz, as while it was time for him to get up and start his day, the woman lying next to him, or on this particular morning; draped across his chest and thigh, still had about two hours left of her appointment with the pillow. Lorelai had, by now, learned to sleep through that first alarm, but Luke still did this as a courtesy to her. If she could go to bed early once a week without uttering a single complaint about it, then the least he could do in return was to try his best not to disrupt her sleep when slipping out of bed in the morning.

Moving to remove Lorelai's arm, Luke frowned in surprise when he finally noticed there being some sort of thick leaflet, possibly a magazine pressed against his stomach, one of the edges poking him lightly in the ribcage. Moving her arm to the side, so he could sit up, he finally got a look at the intruding object. He raised his brows in confusion when he noticed that it was the manual for the industrial dishwasher he used for the diner. Safe to say it was probably the last thing he'd expected for her to choose as her bedtime reading. Picking it up, he read the first paragraph on the open page.

_'Troubleshooting tips. Problem: Dishes and flatware not clean. Possible causes: Low inlet water temperature. What to do: Make sure inlet water temperature is correct (see page 8). Turn on the hot water faucet nearest the dishwasher; let run until the water temperature stops rising. Then start the dishwasher and turn off the faucet...'_

Luke shook his head, glancing over at Lorelai's sleeping form. Only Lorelai Gilmore would fall asleep reading an appliance manual. The light from the lamp standing on her nightstand, which Luke at least assumed had stayed on the entire night, was unwelcoming bright and forced him to close his eyes for a moment, while he fumbled with the light switch. Opening them again, he first had to blink a couple of times, waiting for the spots before his eyes to disappear and his vision to clear up.

Lorelai was still fast asleep, her glasses still on, looking like.., he couldn't say 'angel', because the visual one got when comparing anyone or anything to an angel, was a being of perfection, flawless, not even a single strand of hair out of place. Luke might think highly of this woman he had the great fortune of sharing his bed with, but she definitely did not resemble an angel this very morning. As a result of him rolling her over to her side, depriving her of her human pillow, her head had slumped forward in one of those really unfortunate positions that would give Callista Flockhart a double chin. Lorelai's bottom lip was sticking out in what would've been a pout, had her mouth not been slightly open. And like all those other mornings, when she hadn't bothered straightening it out the day before, Lorelai's hair was an unmaintainable mess, curls flowing in all directions.

Still, the only word Luke could think of to describe her was 'adorable'. She wasn't impossibly perfect, not that he'd ever believed she was, even back when his pining for her had been at its worst. Like anyone else, she had her bad hair days, the smelly morning breath. Sometimes, when sleeping, her elbow would smack into his ribs when she turned. Other times his arm would go numb from her using his shoulder as her personal head cushion all night long. And on nights when she didn't do that, Lorelai had the occasional kleptomaniac tendency to take his pillows. Luke would then wake up the following morning with his head on the mattress, his neck hurting, only to find his girlfriend either propped up on or buried underneath the mountain of pillows she'd acquired during the night.

And to think this was just from the sleeping Lorelai. However, no matter how much she drove him crazy, whether asleep or awake, Luke couldn't imagine having it any other way. She wasn't 'perfect' in the ways that the definition of the word entailed and Luke didn't want her to be 'perfect'. In many ways it was her imperfection that had attracted him to her. Of course he thought she was the most beautiful woman he knew, there was no denying that, but there had been other women in his life that he'd also considered very beautiful and that had required far less work than Lorelai. But Lorelai was special. She had a way of both driving him up the wall in sheer frustration while at the same time pulling him in further. She was a walking oxymoron in herself and Luke found that that was probably the best way to describe her. Perfect imperfection. And he didn't want 'perfect', he didn't want those other women, he wanted her, in all her perfect imperfectness, not a thing changed. The only reason he kept pleading with her to improve her eating habits, was to make sure he would have her around for as long as possible.

He carefully removed her glasses, placing them on the nightstand, on top of the manual, which he'd left open on the page she'd been reading. He bent down and placed a light kiss to her forehead, before finally slipping out of the bed, pulling on his socks, jeans and flannel from the day before which had a ketchup stain on it from a Kirk-related incident. Not exactly dressed to impress, but he was, after all, only meeting his bread guy, not opening the diner or anything else involving customers. He would change into something else when he came back up, anyway.

Everything was quiet and the streets of Stars Hollow were still empty when he came down. Checking the time, he concluded that it would probably take another ten minutes for Mike to show up and started pulling down chairs. When that was all done, he carried on to the kitchen to unload the dishwasher, which he'd been too tired to do when closing up the night before. About halfway through he finally heard a tap on the door; he turned to see his old friend ready with one of the boxes.

- G'morning, Luke, Mike greeted him, as Luke held the door open for him to enter.

- Morning, Mike, Luke replied, as the man put the box down on the counter and turned to head back out again. - What'd you got for me, today?

Both men knew Luke was asking about the volume, rather than the actual content.

- Another four or five boxes, Mike shrugged. - Didn't look too closely.

Luke called Mike his 'bread guy', but really he was more of an overall supplier, or well, not actually the supplier, but the guy who drove the truck. He'd started out with the one truck, contracting with Hartford bakeries to provide breads to eateries in Stars Hollow and the nearby area, which was how he'd earned the label 'bread guy'. But as that alone wasn't enough to pay the bills, he took on delivery assignments from other suppliers looking to cut their expenses. In the later years, he had also expanded his business and hired in a couple of more drivers to cover new areas. However, while business was now booming, so to speak, Stars Hollow and its immediate neighbors remained part of Mike's own turf.

- You need a hand, Luke asked him.

- Knock yourself out.

Luke followed the man out to where he'd parked his truck. Mike handed Luke one of the boxes that was labeled 'Luke's', then grabbed one for himself.

- So, what's new with you this week, Luke, he asked. - Still supporting that loser team of yours?

- You know very well that's never gonna change, Luke replied, having been a Red Sox man since he was a little boy, just like his father.

- And here I was hoping maybe you'd woken up and seen the light, Mike said, teasingly. - Face it, man, your team's as good as dead and buried. You might as well let it rest in peace.

For as long as they'd been in business, the two men had been battling it out over which team was the superior one on a weekly basis. It had started pretty friendly, when the two teams in question had been without titles for some years, but when the Yankees began their winning spree, Mike's glee had made him painful to be around, especially around the change of millennium, when his team really had been at the top, winning about every title possible. But even though Mike still was too cocky for his own good when it came to the Major League, even he could see the signs of downfall in his teams reign, especially with how the Red Sox nearly had the Yankees beat in the American League just the year before. Since then his comments on the expence of the Boston Red Sox had diminished ever so slightly.

- Can't say I've seen the Yankees bringing home the World Series in the last couple of years, Luke shot back, just as teasingly. - Who was it that won last season? Or the one before that? Or the one before that?

- Not the Red Sox, at least, Mike jousted. - And at least we made it to the play-offs last year. When was the last time the Sox did that? 86' wasn't it? Face it, they're never gonna break the curse of the Bambino. You might as well give up.

- Oh, I don't know, Luke shrugged, thinking about that other 'impossible' thing that had finally happened to him this year. - This might just be their year.

- You're too much of a dreamer, Danes, Mike said, shaking his head.

Luke chuckled. He couldn't think of anyone else that would accuse him of being anything but a realist.

- How's the family, he asked, the subject of baseball already exhausted.

- They're good. The youngest's all excited about starting school in the fall. Jill and I even took her shopping for school supplies last week. I'm telling you, they grow up too quickly for their own good. When you, yourself, start having kids, you'll see what I mean.

- Yeah, I guess, Luke nodded.

Of course, Mike didn't know that Luke, too, had a family now. But then again, Mike didn't know that Luke had both gotten married and divorced in the last year. They never really got into Luke's personal life when they talked, not because Mike was self absorbed or anything. Most of the things Luke knew about the man, were little trivial pieces of information that had just naturally slipped into their weekly conversations. He knew Mike was married and had at least three kids, that the middle one played in a Litte League and now he knew the youngest was starting elementary school. He also knew Mike preferred to get his work over and done with early in the morning, so he could spend more time with his kids and because his wife worked longer days than he did, Mike was more often than not in charge of cooking dinner and was somewhat of a hobby chef. But that was about it for the big stuff. Luke didn't really know Mike beyond their trivial conversations while carrying in boxes and vice versa. Mike knew of Luke's business, that the diner used to be his dad's hardware store (Mike had asked), that he lived above the diner in a simple bachelor pad and that Luke never drank coffee. So, Luke saw no point in delving into the complicated situation with him, Lorelai and William with someone who, after all, really wasn't more than a mere acquaintance.

- And, that's the last of it, Mike announced, as he dumped the last box on top of the counter.

- Coffee, Luke asked, already filling up a to-go cup.

- It's that time of day, Mike nodded, then added. - Well, for us mere mortals, at least.

- On the house, Luke reminded him, as he caught the man once again reaching for his wallet, despite the fact that Luke never charged him for his early morning coffee.

- Thanks, Mike replied, turning to head back out to his truck. - See you in a week.

- Bye, Luke nodded. - Drive safely.

- Never, the man chuckled, closing the door behind him.

Intending to wait for his mid-morning lull to actually stow away the supplies, Luke only carried the boxes containing the non-perishable items to the back to get them out of his immediate way and quickly stowed the rest into either the fridge or the freezer. With that done, he climbed back up the stairs to the apartment. Lorelai was still out like a light and even though William most likely wouldn't wake up for yet another hour, Luke couldn't help but walk by the crib to check on him. The baby laid sprawled on his back, the sheets curled up at the foot of the crib, probably kicked off sometime during the night due to the heat. He was holding his beloved blue bunny in somewhat of a head grip, one of the bunny's ears covering the boy's forehead. Although William still had another three months before his first birthday, what Mike had said about kids growing up too quickly, really hit close to home. Despite all the commotion with his joke of a marriage and the turbulent start of his relationship with Lorelai, it literally felt like it was just days ago that he was holding that tiny bundle in his arms and William had gripped his finger for the first time and already it was nine months later. Glancing in the direction where he and Lorelai slept, Luke figured this must've been how Lorelai had felt while watching Rory grow up right in front of her.

Knowing he couldn't stand by the crib the whole day, Luke finally broke free of the spell and headed into the bathroom for a quick shower. Once showered and dressed, Luke emerged from the bathroom to find Lorelai still fast asleep and no sign of William having awoken either. Checking his clock, he saw that it was closing in on the time Lorelai usually got up for work, so as well as slipping two slices of rye bread into the toaster, he got out the frying pan, as well as two eggs and a package of bacon, then turned on the coffee maker so the coffee would be done by the time he finished making breakfast. He then filled and turned on the water boiler, that Lorelai had talked him into getting, although Luke still didn't see the point in buying an appliance whose only function was to boil water, when he could do that on his stove, already. Still, whenever making breakfast, he found himself putting that damn thing on instead of pulling out a pot, like he always had before getting it.

By the time Luke piled the food onto the plates, remembering to put the eggs on the side of the plate, knowing how Lorelai didn't like to have her breakfast 'ogling' her, the entire apartment smelled of bacon and coffee. He was surprised Lorelai hadn't bounced out of bed the minute the scent hit her nostrils. Putting the plate with the bacon and eggs on her side of the table and the rye toast on his, Luke walked over to the bed to wake her. Stroking her cheek, gently, he bent down and placed a soft kiss to her forehead before muttering;

- Lorelai?

Lorelai groaned ever so slightly, but she didn't move an inch. Luke bent down and pressed his lips against hers, this time Lorelai's eyes fluttered open and a smile spread across her face.

- Morning, she murmured, stretching her arms over her head like a cat.

- Good morning, Luke replied, kissing her again.

This time one of Lorelai's arms snaked around Luke's neck, deepening the kiss, neither one of them worrying too much about their respective morning breaths.

- Mmm, Lorelai murmured, as they broke off, pushing herself up to a sitting position. - I had a really weird dream.

- Did it in any way involve a dishwasher, Luke asked.

- How did you know, she asked, confused.

Luke nodded in direction of the open manual still sitting on her nightstand. Lorelai barely glanced at it before she furrowed her brows, obviously upset about something.

- I can't believe I fell asleep, she muttered, mostly to herself. - Aw, man. I'm so bummed.

This caused Luke to raise his brows in confusion. Up until then, he'd assumed the goal of Lorelai's bedtime reading had been to fall asleep. This made no sense, whatsoever. Lorelai didn't seem to notice his quizzical expression as she flipped the page, shaking her head at what she found.

- And, of course, there were only two pages left.

Lorelai seemed to really be beating herself up about this and Luke just had to ask.

- Okay, why were you reading my dishwasher manual?

- Well, I've already read your oven, broiler and refrigerator manuals, Lorelai shrugged. - And since I have the same coffee maker at home and the only other thing you had left was the water boiler and dishwasher manuals, I went with the dishwasher, because the water boiler was like two pages long.

- I meant, _why_ were you reading my dishwasher manual, Luke repeated, emphasizing on the 'why'.

- I couldn't sleep, Lorelai said, matter-of-factly.

- Then why are you so bummed about falling asleep, Luke asked, getting more confused by the second. - Mission accomplished.

- I wanted to finish it, she shrugged.

- It's just a manual, Luke pointed out.

- Who knew they could be so enticing?

Luke just shook his head, then something Lorelai said came back to him and he started counting back the weeks.

- So, you've been reading one of these every time I've had early deliveries, he concluded.

- Uhuh, she nodded.

- And you couldn't find anything else to read, he asked.

- It was either that or one of William's baby books, Lorelai pointed out. - And as giving as reading the same pointing book out loud over and over again to a nine month old on my lap, so he can learn more words, I myself feel I am fully educated in the names of colors, farm animals and your ordinary everyday objects, and could use something a bit more challenging.

- Like an appliance manual, Luke concluded.

- Exactly, Lorelai grinned. - See, you're getting it.

- Not really, Luke muttered, but decided to leave it at that. - Your food's getting cold.

Those were the magic words that finally got Lorelai Gilmore to slip out of bed. Watching her cross the room, wearing nothing more than his blue flannel shirt, Luke regretted the fact that he had to head downstairs in not too long and open the diner. Either Lorelai had gotten so used to his eyes roaming her body, or she was purposely ignoring it, waving her empty coffee mug in his direction with pleading eyes. Luke took the mug from her and filled it up with freshly brewed coffee. While at the counter, Luke grabbed another mug from the cupboard, dropping a tea bag into it, filling it with hot water. Lorelai took a sip from her coffee and admired her breakfast.

- Eggs on the side, she grinned. - You remembered.

- You only ever need to tell me once, Luke shrugged.

- Oh, I distinctively remember having to do more than that to convince you to take away that plate, she countered.

- You know I brought you back that very same plate only with the eggs on the side, right?

Lorelai grinned and responded by taking a bite out of her bacon, while Luke did the same with his toast. They were only about halfway through their meal, when they heard distinctive signs that William finally had awoken.

- Okay. You get the baby, I'll get the banana, Luke decided.

Instead of following his lead and getting out of her chair, Lorelai sat and looked at him with her brows raised.

- What, he asked.

- _Dirty._

- Aw, geez.

TBC 


	120. Crap!

AN: Once again, this chapter took much longer than I wanted it to, but finally time and the muses allowed it to be done. Hopefully it was worth the wait. A thank you goes out to karose10, you inspired a piece in this chapter. Thank you to my best friend who, after about 25 book suggestions, came with the one I went with. And last, but not least, many thanks to Steph for the beta.

**smileyGGfan** - I have no idea where Mike came from, other than the name, which came from Debbie. The person just appeared in my mind, his past, his interests. I hope to bring him back later on in some capacity. Maybe when the Red Sox actually wins the world series. We'll see.

**karose10** - For me it's that I work ten hours, so I'm not back at the hotel room until almost 7 and then when I've had something to eat, it's 8 and I only have a couple of hours before it's time for bed. It's exhausting. But I get Friday's off, which gives me more time off at home. Thank you for inspiring the opening sequence ;)

**Copop** - I'm just happy I did it and I did have fun. The point of Mike is that he is likeable, but he loved to tease and annoy people, in a friendly way.

**sophie** - How many times do I have to tell people that if you do not like it, there is no obligation to continue reading it? I'm usually not offended by negative reviews. I welcome everyone to speak their mind, but I find some of your phrasing kinda rude. And whether you believe me or not, I am not writing aimlessly. I have a plan and I'm following it.

* * *

- Are you serious?

It was in the middle of the usual mid-morning lull, when most of the guests had just finished their breakfast and those who hadn't were still taking the opportunity to sleep in. Lorelai loved working Saturday mornings. While the weekend was when they were at their busiest, on Saturdays there was always this longer morning lull, where she could take a breather and chat with Sookie in the kitchen, without it affecting her to-do list one bit. Almost no one checked out on Saturdays, as most of the guests preferred to come for the weekend or longer, so whoever did, Michel could handle just fine on his own. And as lunch had temporarily been cut, as of this week, the kitchen was beginning to empty, leaving the two friends to talk relatively undisturbed.

- I swear to... some sort of divine power, Lorelai told her friend, recalling the events of the night before. - The whole evening he acted like nothing was out of the ordinary, completely nonchalant. He made us dinner, we ate and talked, even watched a game together...

- I thought you said nothing was out of the ordinary, Sookie teased.

- I said he _acted_ like nothing was out of the ordinary, Lorelai corrected. - And for your information, we have, actually, on occasion watched a game together, before.

- So this was the second time, Sookie guessed.

- Exactly, Lorelai nodded. - And while I still do not grasp what's so interesting about men throwing around and hitting a ball with a baseball bat, in a way, Luke makes it fun. He explains the rules, answers all my dumb questions without being even a bit annoyed with me. He doesn't even complain when I do one of my bits right in the middle of it.

- Wow, he really must love you, Sookie chuckled.

At the mention of the word 'love', tingles went down her spine. Neither one of them had actually said it yet, probably because both of them considered their relationship to be a bit too 'young' for those three little words to really apply. Aside from telling Rory and William, and on occasion Sookie, Lorelai hadn't spoken those words to anyone, if, of course, one didn't count the times she'd said it in jest. If so, then Christopher, Kirk, Pasqualie; the shoe repairman, Ian; the butcher, the linen supplier and the occasional waiter bringing her coffee would make the list as well, possibly a few more. But she had never said it to Luke, not because she didn't have very strong feelings for the man, because if she was to admit to love a man, Luke was without a doubt that man for her. But truth be told, those words scared the living crap out of her. More than anything, even getting married. She had been engaged to marry a man that she hadn't even said 'I love you' to. That really should speak for itself on how much those three simple words terrified her.

Joking was easier, it was her way of protecting herself. It was easier to mock-say it, than to actually say it. But in all those years, where she'd playfully declared her love for what could seem to be anything walking on two legs, she had not been able to even jokingly say it to Luke. Back then it had been a mystery why it had been so impossible for her to say it to Luke, but now she was sure she knew why. She didn't want to cheapen their relationship. Not back then, and definitely not now. _When_, and a big emphasis on _when_, she said it, there was not going to be even a smidgen of doubt in his mind that she meant it. Even if it meant her keeping mum for another six months, that was what she was gonna do.

- So, when did you actually find it, Sookie then asked, having noticed Lorelai's quiet withdrawment.

- It was when we finally went to bed. I came back from brushing my teeth and I just found it sitting there on my nightstand, along with a bookmark that I'd also never seen before in my life.

- Aww, Sookie gushed. - He got you your own bookmark. Now you don't have to do the whole bunny ear thing that Rory's always been complaining about.

- Well, Luke's a practical man, Lorelai shrugged.

- I still can't get over him picking out 'Never Ending Story', though, Sookie pointed out, shaking her head a bit. - I'm sorry, but I just can't picture it. It's not really like him at all.

- I made him watch the movie, Lorelai explained.

- That'll do it, the chef chuckled. - So what'd you reckon spurred this whole book-buying just out of the blue?

- I think it might have something to do with the whole manual thing?

- Manual thing, Sookie asked, confused.

- A couple of times when I couldn't get to sleep, I'd read one of his kitchen appliance manuals, Lorelai shrugged.

- And you couldn't find something slightly more interesting out of everything there?

- That's probably what Luke must've been thinking, as well, Lorelai laughed.

- Did he say that, Sookie asked.

- No, Lorelai shook her head. - He didn't mention the manual thing at all, when I confronted him about the book. He just said something about knowing how much I loved the movie, and that I didn't have the book, and that the book is usually better than the movie. Did I mention he bought the edition with all the illustrations in it?

- Shut up, the bubbly chef laughed. - You're making me jealous.

- Why would you be jealous, Lorelai asked, amused. - You've got Jackson.

- Yeah, but Jackson would never do that.

- What, buy a book? Honey, you hate reading. If it's anything more complex than a 'point and learn' book or a recipe, it gives you a headache.

- Oh, good point. But I mean just doing something so spur in the moment like that, and then act like it wasn't a big deal.

- I've seen Jackson do plenty of romantic things for you. Have you forgotten how he let you go crazy with the wedding preparations when you had been lured into Emily land, because he thought that's what you wanted, even though it was making him miserable?

- No?

- Or how he, on my birthday, denied himself cake, even turned around so he couldn't even look at it, cause you were pregnant and couldn't drink or eat too much unhealthy food?

- Yeah, he did do that, Sookie gushed with added adoration for her husband.

- Or what about the time he tried hooking up the central sound system to the baby monitor and almost got electrocuted in the process?

- You're right. Jealousy's over. I've got me a good man.

- A great man, Lorelai corrected, barely registering that the kitchen door had opened behind her.

- I am sorry for interrupting your little girl talk moment, Michel said, dryly. - But there is a man here to see you.

- A man, Lorelai asked, confused.

- He claims he is your father, though why he would willingly volunteer that information is beyond me.

And like someone had flipped a switch, Lorelai's light mood evaporated instantly. She couldn't say she was surprised that Richard had decided to show up. After all, she'd been absent for two Friday dinners in a row, now, ever since the two of them had their 'disagreement'. However, she had counted on it taking longer than two weeks before he wanted to see her again, especially considering some of her parting words to him. She stared at the kitchen door, where Michel had stood just seconds ago. A small part of her hoped that if she stayed there long enough, her father would give up and leave. But although Richard could be considered a prodigious student of Miss Manners, and thereby would be willing to wait for her for hours, eventually, Richards patience, as well as courtesy would wear out and rather than going home, he would more likely come to the kitchen looking for her.

Lorelai sighed, glanced over at her friend for a second before walking towards the door. She might as well get it over and done with. Richard was sitting in one of the recliners in what Lorelai had named the activity room, as it was where they kept the books, the board games and the cd's for the guests to borrow, but really the room was more like a comfy hallway connecting the reception area and the dining area. The man, obviously prepared to wait a while, had unfolded one of the newspapers they laid out on the tables and was currently reading something in the Stars Hollow Gazette. Lorelai recognized the issue; it was the one where Rory's coverage of the Woodbury Horse Show had been printed. It was probably the only time Lorelai had ever bought more than one issue of the local newspaper, intending to cut the article out and hang it up on the fridge once the construction finished and she could move back into her own house. Receiving no objections, whatsoever, Lorelai had even hung one of them up on Luke's fridge.

Richard didn't seem to have gotten this far, as he was reading the summation of the last few town meetings. This was one of the special quirks of this town. Concerned that the townspeople might miss out on important town issues, Taylor had ordered the Gazette to have a journalist present at every town meeting to write a summation of events, as well as advertise for the upcoming meetings, despite everyone in town knowing it was Thursday's at six o'clock at Miss Patty's dance studio. Emergency meetings were announced more creatively, more often than not involving Kirk in one way or another. Also on these Taylor expected to have a journalist present.

The funny thing was that the only person in town that read these summations, besides Taylor himself, was Kirk. And usually one could also find an entry by Kirk in the debate column (which the editor eventually had expanded and moved from the last page to feature on the page following the town meeting summations) where he would point out the inaccuracies in the official summations, often providing his own recount of events. Lorelai suspected this particular behavior of his had something to do with the rejection he'd received when applying for the post as a journalist for the Stars Hollow Gazette. Richard hadn't looked up yet, but probably had noticed her presence otherwise, as he folded up the newspaper with a chuckle.

- I have to say, you have indeed chosen an _interesting_ place to make your home, Richard said, amused.

- Um, thanks, Lorelai muttered, a bit taken aback by the soft tone of her father's voice.

Richard didn't seem himself, well, he seemed himself, but not the self he usually presented post one of their fights, and this had been a bigger one. She wanted to ask who he was and what he had done with her father, but as much as this person in front of her weirded her out, she did not want to start her day with yet another fight. Not if she could help it. So instead she asked something else, something less prone to starting an argument.

- What are you doing here?

- Well, Richard shrugged, still smiling. - I realized that I have yet to see the business that you've made for yourself and I thought it was about time I did something about that.

- You're here to see where I work, Lorelai asked in disbelief.

Had someone hit him over the head with a blunt object, causing him to lose memory? Was this Richard's way of burying the hatchet? There had to be an underlying agenda, here. Of course, that was more Emily's field of expertise, and not Richard's, but Lorelai simply couldn't believe that after what she'd said and especially since she had yet to apologize for it, that he would be so calm and friendly towards her. Usually there were weeks of chilled politeness between them before they would go back to normal. And remembering how the last visit from her dad had been a non-stop criticism of her work clothes, her conduction of business and generally her life, altogether, she was definitely not expecting this time to be any different.

- And I figured the way to get a real impression would be to have a guided tour by the owner, herself, Richard nodded, then added. - If you're not too busy, that is.

Lorelai wanted to say yes, but truth be told, she wasn't too busy and the sooner she got the tour over and done with, the sooner Richard would leave.

- Where is William, Richard suddenly asked. - It can not be time for his nap, already, can it?

_Crap!_ Of course Richard would have to come when it was Luke's turn to look after William. Oh, yeah, this was going to be a swell day.

- No, um, Rory's watching him, Lorelai quickly covered.

_Crap, crap, crap!_ Lorelai didn't remember if Rory had told her her specific plans for the day. She just knew they didn't involve Stars Hollow, otherwise they would've at the very least made dinner plans. And by naming her daughter as the alleged baby sitter, she had invertedly sparked an expectation for both her children's presence by the end of the day. Any hope of her father leaving before then was now nothing short of wishful thinking. She needed to call her daughter.

- Um, I just remember, she muttered. - I have to take care of this one thing before we can do that tour, okay?

- No problem, Lorelai, Richard nodded, already picking up another issue of the Stars Hollow Gazette. - In the meantime I can get up to date on the events in this peculiar town of yours.

- Okay, knock yourself out.

Lorelai had never before been so thankful as she was now for Michel's insistence of throwing away any newspapers that were more than two weeks old. When the annoying Frenchman had first brought the issue up, neither she or Sookie had seen the harm in having the extra few papers lying around. Normally in cases when it was the two owners versus the concierge, Lorelai and Sookie were the victorious ones. But this time Michel had argued that even though there probably was the odd guest who'd enjoy plowing through several month old issues of 'Hickville news', the more common guest would find this practice more sloppy, than charming.

Had Lorelai and Sookie not given in, the issue revealing William's paternity would still be lying in that pile and Richard would've been sure to pick it up. She felt an urge to just walk up and hug the man, but resisted and headed into her office to retrieve her phone. She quickly dialed Rory's number and started pacing across the room, as she waited for her daughter to pick up.

- Please, pick up, she mumbled. - Please, pick up.

- _Hello?_

- Mayday, mayday. Huston, we have a problem, Lorelai muttered, trying her best to be quiet so no one could accidentally listen in on the conversation.

- _Who's this?_

- Tell me I didn't just hear you say that, Lorelai said, appalled.

- _Mom?_

- Yes, your mother. Who else would call you up in a panicky frenzy?

- _Well, Paris, for one_, Rory pointed out. - _What seems to be the problem?_

- I need you to go by Luke's to pick up William and bring him to the inn.

- _What? Why?_

- 'Cause dad just showed up.

- _At the inn?_

- Yes, he showed up a few minutes ago, wanting me to give him a tour of the inn. Then he asked me where William was, so I panicked and told him you were watching him. So, please, please, come verify mommy's story.

- _Mom, don't you think this whole secrecy thing is beginning to get stupid? I mean, they are not idiots. Sooner or later, whether you are the one to tell them or not, grandma and grandpa are gonna find out about Luke. And if it doesn't come from you, this is gonna come back and bite you in the ass._

- I can't tell them about Luke and William before they know about Luke and me, Lorelai argued. - If they find out in that order, Luke is never gonna be anything to them other than the guy that knocked their daughter up and then proceeded to marry another woman. Mom and dad are never gonna see the nuances of that picture if that's their first impression of him.

- _Then let them know Luke first_, Rory suggested. - _Tell grandpa about him._

- Why don't I just feed him to the wolves, instead? It'd be a lot more compassionate.

- _Well, you have to start somewhere..._

- Not today, Lorelai decided. - I'm not ready. Besides, I've already told him you're watching William for me. To change my story now will just cause suspicion. Not to mention I would have to explain why my boyfriend is watching my son, when we are both working. So, you have to come bail me out. Please?

- _I can't_, Rory sighed. - _Jess and I are going apartment hunting today._

- Can't you reschedule? I mean, you still have weeks before school starts up, right?

- _This is Jess' only weekend off and we'll make a better impression if we both show up for the appointments. Besides, most of the good places are already taken. If we wait any longer, we might end up living in some overly priced dump._

- What's wrong with where you are now?

- _It's too small_, Rory explained.

Lorelai swore she heard Jess mutter '_hey_' in the background.

- I didn't hear you complain before.

- _Because then I was just spending the occasional night, as opposed to living here on a semi-fulltime basis_, Rory pointed out. - _It works for a couple of days, a couple of weeks, even, but any longer than that, then at the very least we're gonna need to be able to put a wall between us from time to time._

- Do I sense trouble in paradise?

- _For when I have to pull an all night study session_, Rory corrected her. - _Especially if he has work the next day._

- Oh, Lorelai nodded. - That makes sense.

There was a pause at the other end, as Lorelai heard Jess mutter something to Rory, though she couldn't make out what it was. There was a brief exchange between the two teens, before Lorelai heard Rory return to the phone.

- _Okay_, she said. - _If we're gonna make it to the first appointment, we have to leave in the next couple of minutes. Our last one's at three and I can probably make it to Stars Hollow by dinner time. I'll even swing by Luke's and keep up with this charade of yours, but that's really the best I can do. Take it or leave it._

- Fine, Lorelai sighed. - I'll take it. After all, I only went through like twenty-six hours of labor, so it's not like you owe me anything.

- _I'm pretty sure I've paid my dues concerning my birth a long time ago and for future reference it would be wise for you to think of something new to guilt trip me with_, Rory pointed out, then a brief pause later added. - _And now I really have to go. Love you._

- Love you, too, hon.

Richard seemed to have moved back to reading the latest issue of the Gazette, when Lorelai returned.

- Lorelai, why didn't you tell me Rory wrote for this newspaper, he said in an oddly non-scolding tone. - Had I known, I would have taken up a subscription.

Lorelai felt herself go pale, imagining the major 'what if' scenario, had Richard done that a mere couple of weeks ago, when the revelations concerning William's paternity had almost made the front page.

- It was just the one assignment, she quickly argued. - There's no need to take up a whole subscription for one very short text about the Woodbury Horse Show. Besides, no one subscribes to the Stars Hollow Gazette, not even the editor of the Stars Hollow Gazette subscribes to the Stars Hollow Gazette. How about I just bring you a copy the next time Rory writes something?

- Well, Richard considered. - While I do find the summations of the town meetings of much amusement, I think that that's probably for the best.

- Great, Lorelai grinned, trying not to look too relieved. - You know, you can take that one with you, when you leave, if you want to hang it up on the fridge or something. I've already done that, myself.

- Actually, I was more thinking of saving it for when your mother comes back. She has this book where she keeps all of Rory's newspaper clippings, starting with that first piece she wrote at Chilton on the repaving of the faculty parking lot.

Lorelai almost didn't notice the slight sadness in his voice, when he mentioned Emily. Almost. While she was, in a way, grateful to be without her mother's constant criticism for a couple of weeks, she did wonder where she was and how she was doing. It wasn't like Emily to just take off and not even check in with either of them. Lorelai could understand why Emily was giving Richard the cold shoulder and even why she had decided to shut Lorelai out as well, but why Rory, too, was included in their good company, that she did not get. Rory, the second coming of the Gilmore clan. Rory didn't seem to think much of it, even defended her grandmother's need to get some space, but Lorelai thought inflicting worry upon them all, like that, was just cruel. Apparently cruelty laid in the genes, as Lorelai felt a strong urge to ask her father if he'd heard from her mother at all since she took off. But as asking would not lead to anything good, she resisted the urge and decided to change the subject, instead.

- So, you ready for that tour, she asked. - What do you want to start with? The interior or the exterior?

- Well, it's a rather fine day, today, Richard pointed out. - Though I caught some of the exterior as I was on my way in, I wouldn't mind taking in the full sights.

- Well, then follow me, Lorelai said, leading him with her through the front door.

She decided to show Richard the trails around the inn and finishing off with the stables, as according to her calculations it would time perfectly with the horses feeding schedule. While leading him around the outside of the house, she explained some of the work that had been done to restore the old building without taking from its integrity. She also allowed Richard a slight glimpse into the long story behind how she had found this building several years ago. She mentioned Rachel, but was careful to edit out any mentioning of Luke, especially considering he was involved with Rachel back then. The less her parents knew about Luke's past love's, the better his chances were at making a good impression, once the two of them were ready to face them as a couple.

- And here we have the Dragonfly's two most popular employees, Lorelai announced, as they entered the stables, where the two horses were eagerly chewing hay. - Cletus and Desdemona. You're lucky we got here just now, cause these two rarely stays long in the stables. The guests are practically lining up around the block to take them out for a ride.

- I can't say I blame them, Richard said, approvingly, stroking Cletus' mane. - They are two very fine specimens, indeed.

Lorelai was actually surprised how well this tour was going. Not that she'd believed Richard would hate Cletus and Desdemona, as she had yet to meet a human being who did. Even Michel could only demonstrate _slight_ annoyance towards the two four legged troublemakers. But just in general, Richard's positive attitude felt a bit too good to be true. The more complimentary he got, the more she waited for the other shoe to drop.

- If you want, I can always set you up for a ride, she suggested, noticing his admiration of the horses. - Not today, of course, but some other time.

She couldn't recall a time where her father had gone horseback riding or even been near a horse, but that didn't necessarily mean he never had or that he didn't want to.

- Oh, I am sure Emily would love that, Richard chuckled. - Thank you for the offer, Lorelai, but if it's the same to you, I think I will decline.

They bid their two quadruped friends goodbye and Lorelai steered him back towards the direction of the inn's entrance, pointing out the bungalow as they walked past it. Explaining their concept of having the honeymoon suite outside of the main building, both serving to give the newlyweds more privacy, with their own personal entrance, as well as preventing the sounds from their 'activities' from bothering the other guests. Lorelai was sure Richard would frown upon her insinuations, as there were things one did not talk about, but instead he surprised her by complimenting her creative thinking.

As Richard had already seen the reception area and livingroom on his own, Lorelai didn't bother saying much about the actual rooms, besides pointing out her office. Instead she explained how she and Sookie wanted to focus on giving the place a warm, homely feel, but at the same time avoiding going too much in the direction of a Bed and Breakfast. She ventured into a small anecdote about the moving flowers on the wallpaper at the room she and Rory had stayed in at the Cheshire cat and how that, along with the floral patterned chairs and bed linens, really set her against the whole floral thing as a theme and that they instead had decided to focus on things and knick knacks.

- Pretty much all the pieces of furniture, the pictures on the walls and the stuff on the shelves are from the dozens and dozens of antique stores that Sookie and I went to in the months leading up to opening this place up, she explained. - Obviously, the computer, card machine and phones are all new, because we want to be effective. We use a similar reservation system as we did at the Independence, only a newer version and we have our own website.

- That is a very clever business strategy, Richard agreed. - From what I've read, more and more business transactions are being done over the net every year. Pretty soon we will be doing all our errands digitally. I hope your website takes reservations.

- Of course, Lorelai assured him.

She proceeded to guide him towards the 'livingroom', intending to take him through there to the dining room and see about getting him lunch. Richard stopped a few times, looking closer at a few of the pictures and figurines.

- You know, he said. - This, here, reminds me of this restaurant I dined at on my last trip to Oslo. Two restaurants, actually. It was a chain. Sadly, I seem to have forgotten what they were called, but they, too, had a lot of old pictures and knick knacks on their walls. They, however, were particularly focused on old household items and historical pictures of the area. The food was quite alright, as well, probably not up to Emily's standards, but I quite enjoyed it. But what really struck me was that homely atmosphere that you mentioned. The design of the place was also very specific; brick walls and old wooden pillars and it was the same at whichever restaurant you visited.

Richard chuckled.

- You know, when I walked into that second one I was dead sure my client had brought me back to the same restaurant, he continued, shaking his head, slightly. - But enough about that. What I wanted to ask you was if you have thought about franchising? Inns are very fashionable right now. With your sense of detail and the personal touches with everything, you could make a bundle.

There it was, the catch. Lorelai knew that once she said no, Richard would once again show his true colors. As good as securing William's college tuition, along with ones for any future siblings, sounded, the very idea of going through a similar year to the one she'd just had, with the grueling work, the worries... everything, it really wasn't an option.

- Um, dad, she muttered. - I _just_ opened this place up...

- Oh, no, Richard shook his head. - I did not mean going ahead with it right away, that would be toying with bankruptcy. But eventually, once this place has stabilized and broken even, then you could start considering expanding the business with one or two more inns. Just mull it over.

- Fine, she sighed. - I'll mull it over.

- Excellent, Richard nodded. - Now, what else did you have to show me?

- Well, Lorelai said, as she guided him into the dining room. - I was actually thinking about proposing lunch. Now, officially we aren't serving lunch, as we're trying to cut any unnecessary costs. Almost none of the guests were eating here, anyway. So, at the moment we are directing the few guests that would towards the other local restaurants, as well as giving them the numbers to any of those that offer take-out. However, I know for a fact that Sookie's still in the kitchen and that she's _dying_ to cook for someone, so if there's anything in particular that you're in the mood for, I will pass on the message.

She let Richard peruse one of their lunch menus, while she took a quick trip out to the reception area to check on everything. They only had two guests due to arrive that day and Michel insisted he could handle it. By the time she returned to the dining area, closing the door behind her to illustrate that the restaurant was currently closed, Richard had decided on the chicken. As predicted, Sookie was more than happy to take their order, and had barely handed over the plates when she began hounding her for dessert orders.

As they finished their lunch and duties called once again, Richard asked her some questions about her insurance policy. Figuring it would occupy him for at least a while, Lorelai handed over the papers to peruse. She went to check on her staff, the rooms that the maids had finished cleaning, to make sure everything was in good condition. On her way back down, she chatted with some of the guests, making sure they were enjoying their stay. More time passed than she had planned, as the window in one of the rooms got stuck and she had to call Parker; the clumsy, slightly forgetful, 63-year old handyman that Lorelai had just hired out of pity, mostly. He normally only worked a couple of days a week and the rest of the time, if there was anything that was really urgent, Lorelai would call Luke, but with her father visiting, calling Luke was out of the question, and instead she had to sweet talk old Parker into coming instead, with the promise of time and a half, if he showed.

It was closing in on three o'clock when Lorelai returned to the restaurant, finding that her father had moved on from reading the policy to reading a book that he probably had found on one of the shelves. Sookie had obviously been out to see him, as both a cup of coffee and a scone was seen next to him.

- Hey, dad, she said, gaining his attention. - So, what's the verdict?

She figured it was best to get right to the matter. If there was one thing that was bound to put a damper on this odd friendly day of theirs, it was Richard giving her his expert advice, often patronizing her at the same time.

- Well, I tip my hat to the criminal genius who convinced you to sign it, he said, truthfully. - The deductible alone should have been a dead give-away. I hate to think what these people have convinced the truly gullible to sign. You must let me put together a new policy for you...

Surprisingly for her, Richard stopped himself from continuing his sentence.

- I mean, he corrected himself. - With your permission, I can put together a proposal for a new policy that you can peruse at your own time.

Lorelai had a hard time recognizing this man in front of her. In the hours that he'd been in her presence, he had yet to say anything critical about her or her business. In fact, he had been the exact opposite of everything she'd expected. She'd expected him to chide her for improper insinuations or behavior. She'd expected him to criticize her choices, her way of conducting business, like he had the last time he'd gotten the idea of visiting her workplace. Everything had been wrong to him, then, from her clothes, the way she conducted business to about everything else in her life, both personal and professional. He hadn't had a single compliment to send in her direction. Yet now, they had been pretty much non-stop. He kept praising everything, the exterior, the decor, the atmosphere, her clever business sense. He actually sounded proud of her.

What was it that had changed? Had her parting words 'woken him up'? Had maybe Rory said something? And most importantly; was this a real effort on his behalf, a baby step towards mending their broken relationship? Or was this simply a fluke, and come next Friday things would go back to normal? There was no way of predicting it. A part of her wanted to believe her father was beginning to see the errors, but experience had taught her that that never was the case. Not that she wasn't happy to finally get some positive attention from her father, but how was she to know if this would last? She supposed the only thing she could do was to hope for the best, while also preparing for the worst.

TBC


	121. Grab your brush and grab your rollers

AN: I know that I've now broken a record in taking a long time to update and I feel bad about it. Last chapter also broke a record in least received reviews, which also made me feel bad. I want to thank Debbie for her motivational speaking. I really appreciate it, hon, you got me over that funk, which I think helped me write better than I would, had I still been feeling low. I really like this chapter and I hope everyone else will, too :)

AN2: Thank you steph for the beta, and Debbie, for your insight :)

**cywen69** - I think Stars Hollow might be a bit too little to allow a web edition as well, but there's always the possibility of Richard getting his hands on that earlier issue, which is a fun thing to dangle over them.

**karose10** - Richard definitely is more vulnerable now that Emily's away and he sees Lorelai, Rory and William just once a week. He notices when Lorelai's absent and can't as easily ignore the reason why.

**Copop** - In time, hon. In time.

**penguinopus** - Richard has his bad sides, even without Emily, but he comes off generally more open minded than Emily.

* * *

Lorelai had not been able to get the Richard thing off her mind. It seemed that every time she and Luke talked or she and Rory talked, her father in one way or another became one of the main subjects. It was like it was beyond her control, or something. Of course, naturally, once Richard had left the Dragonfly, Lorelai had discussed this odd new behavior of his with her daughter, and once again with Luke, when he, later that evening, asked her about it, seeing as Rory had only been brief when she'd been by to pick William up. Lorelai couldn't remember being so obsessed with her parents' behavior since the pudding incident back at Rory's sweet sixteenth. It wasn't that the pudding had been entirely a fluke, but it just never was a permanent change. It was just a couple of days and then everything went back to normal. In the years that had passed, Lorelai was not a single step closer to her parents than the day she had knocked on their door, asking them for a loan.

It had been a week and Lorelai still saw no signs of this thing passing. In a way she just wanted it over and done with. It wasn't that she didn't want to have a good relationship with her father, but she knew from experience that these things never lasted. And as much as she appreciated Richard taking an interest in her life, instead of ignoring her for most of the time, she just didn't know how to handle it. This talking and sharing thing was Richard and Rory, not him and Lorelai. Richard and Lorelai only made awkward small talk when everyone else left them alone in the room together. But on Friday, when Lorelai had decided to resume coming to dinner, Richard had really made an effort. He asked about her life, without limiting his questions to be just about William. He asked her questions that Rory could just as easily have answered, but he chose to direct them at Lorelai. And, although Lorelai had been more than prepared to be shanghaied about the insurance policy on her inn, Richard did no such thing. Didn't even mention it at all during dinner, but rather asked to have a private word with her before they left, where he handed her his proposal, once again reminding her that it was entirely up to her what she did with it.

Lorelai was more than a bit confused when she left that house and almost regretted her little lie when Richard had asked about the progression of the renovation. She had told him it would be soon, not wanting him to meddle with any of her decisions with the room, as knowing Richard, he wouldn't be likely to approve of her decision not to let professionals paint it for her. The truth was that Tom and his crew had already cleared out of her house with a generous tip from Luke for a job well done, and in the past week, the couple had been hitting the paint store, buying all of the supplies they would be needing. The plan was to spend all of Saturday and Sunday painting, while Rory took William with her back to New Haven. Originally they had been talking about painting in shifts, two of them painting, while the third looked after William, but considering how bad paint fumes were for a baby his age, the conclusion had been to keep him out of the house until the room was done. Done painted, at least. After that they would close the door to the room while they let the paint dry and as an added precaution, William would sleep the first few nights of the upcoming week in Rory's room.

Her plan was to wait until the room was painted and furnished, and have William move in, before she let her father know, but this new attitude of his and this seemingly genuine attempt of his to reach out to her, made her wonder if maybe she should have been honest with him. Maybe he would've surprised her. Maybe he wouldn't immediately disapprove of it. She hated this new uncertainness about Richard. Nothing had gone wrong that evening. Nothing. Yet, Lorelai was ranting more about that particular dinner than any of the others that she'd been to. She was more upset about it than any of the previous dinners she'd been to. Normally she was done in a matter of hours, but this rant was resumed the next morning, when she and Luke were laying out tarps to avoid getting paint stains on the new parquet floors. Lorelai had no idea what it was about the tarp that reminded her of her dad, but it had to be something.

- It's like someone hands you a rug, she explained.

- A rug, Luke asked, cocking his brows at her.

- Yeah, she nodded. - They hand you a nice rug and you're like; 'oh, thank you so much', but what you don't know is that the minute you step onto it, they will pull it out from under your feet and then you go head first into the ground and you're lying there thinking you shouldn't have taken that rug in the first place.

- So, you're comparing your parents taking an interest in your life to someone playing a trick on you, Luke concluded.

- That's exactly what I'm talking about.

- You know that makes absolutely no sense.

- In the thirty-six years I've been alive, when have my parents ever taken an interest in my life without it leading to some sort of disaster, Lorelai challenged him.

- How many of those times have you let your guard down long enough to let them, Luke countered.

- You're blaming me for my relationship with my parents, now?

Lorelai couldn't believe what she was hearing.

- All I'm saying is that it goes both ways, Luke explained, as he aligned the tarp with the edges of his side of the room. - When Liz first ran off with Jimmy, she'd had a falling out with our dad. When he cooled down, he tried to get in touch with her, but Liz didn't want to hear it. The only reason she even came back and saw him was because Jimmy had run off and she needed help with Jess, _my_ help with Jess. But when she finally did let dad back in, they patched things up and things ended on a good note.

- But, Luke, you're talking about your dad. My dad's nothing like your dad. Your dad was like a saint in this town. I can ask anyone and all they will ever say about him are good things; great father, generous man, contributor to the town, I mean, the list goes on. I haven't heard anyone say anything remotely bad about him. Patron saint of Stars Hollow; William Danes.

- Don't believe everything you hear, Luke chuckled, shaking his head, slightly. - Like everyone else, he had his temper and I had more than a few good fights with him. The day I told him I wasn't going to accept the scholarship to Haverford, I'd never seen him so mad, which didn't even compare to when I decided to drop out to look after him, full-time. He was pretty much strapped to his sick bed at the time, but boy was he furious. Eventually he calmed down and accepted that it was my choice.

- That's a lot more than my parents have ever given me, Lorelai reminded him. - I mean, they adore Rory, couldn't imagine their lives without her, but still, all I hear whenever I go over there is how I ruined the family by getting pregnant, by running off and raising that amazing kid by myself.

- But your dad is trying now, Luke pointed out, crossing the room to help Lorelai align her part of the tarp. - So, how about giving him the benefit of the doubt for once? Lower your guard and at least accept that it's possible he has no ulterior motive with this.

- Luke, you haven't seen my parents in action. They are sinister and manipulative people. There's always some twist to everything they do and you can bet your life that it's never the same thing. They do this mind trick thing on you, and don't forget they are master wordsmiths. They talk you around in circles until you no longer can separate up from down and then you accept this gesture and you thank them, and _that_ is when they throw in the punch. Mom cosigns on my loan so I can fix my termite-infected house, suddenly she's holding her D.A.R. meetings at the inn.

- What's a D.A.R., Luke asked, confused.

- Not now, babe, Lorelai cut him off. - Then she gives me two tickets to the spa to take whoever I want, but when I accept she invites herself to come along with me. Dad invites Rory and me to go with him for his Wiffenpoof reunion and then it turns out that he'd secretly set up an interview for Rory.

- Wiffenwhat?

- Please, Luke, Lorelai groaned. - I'm trying to make a point.

- I'm hearing you, Luke assured her. - All I'm saying is that you never know if this _is_ a trick or not, because no matter the evidence, there's always the chance that this time it's for real. After all, the third time the boy cried wolf, the wolf did show.

Lorelai gave him a look.

- Just for the record. Comparing my dad to a wolf is not really the way to assure me this is a good thing.

Luke chuckled.

- You know what I mean, he told her, pointedly. - Your relationship with the man is never going to change unless you let it. He's reaching out.

- You don't know that, Lorelai sighed. - You don't know him.

- Maybe we should change that.

- Wait a minute, are you seriously suggesting what I think you're suggesting?

- Well, it's kinda inevitable, Luke shrugged. - You know, unless you plan to dump me within the next couple of months.

- No, no dumping plans currently present in this head.

- But even so it doesn't change anything, Luke continued, as if Lorelai hadn't said anything. - I mean, I'm William's dad, so sooner or later they will have to know that. Come his birthday, they will at the minimum know I'm in his life. Wouldn't it be better we prepared them for that instead of dropping the bomb when that day arrived?

- Who says we need to invite them to the party?

- Lorelai...

- Hey, keeping this thing a secret was your idea to begin with.

- I can't remember you being very eager to tell your parents, either.

- So not the point.

- It is, kind of.

- No, cause we both agreed on it, but _you_ were the one who suggested it. And now you've... what? Changed your mind?

- No, I still think keeping me and William on the down-low for the time being is a good idea, Luke clarified. - But if we are to ease your parents into this, we need to start somewhere and the sooner we get the whole 'meeting the parents' thing over and done with, the better it will be for all of us. I mean, what if, a couple of dinners from now, you slip and mention my name by accident during one of your anecdotes?

- I don't slip, Lorelai insisted. - Trust me; I'm very skilled at keeping these things from my parents.

- Alright, then, what if Rory slips, Luke challenged.

- Fine, Lorelai sighed. - But can we, at least, save the big 'when' and 'how' discussion for later? I just don't want my dad to ruin our fun painting day.

- Well, I hate painting, Luke reminded her. - So, you're the only one who's going to be having any fun.

- Luke, Lorelai whined. - This is a big thing. It's your son's first room. Aren't you at least a little bit excited?

- Yeah, about the room. Not the painting.

- But painting's part of the room, Lorelai pointed out.

- Painting's just a process, Luke countered. - A necessary evil to prevent the woodwork from rotting. Just as long as it gets done, it doesn't matter that much to me who did the actual painting.

- You're missing the whole point. We're making memories, here. Ten years from now we can be going through the old photo albums and we'll see this picture of the two of us with a couple of rollers and we'll be like; 'hey, you remember that time we painted William's room and we ended up covered with paint from top to bottom?'

- Geez, Luke muttered. - You're going to start a paint fight, aren't you?

- No, but we are painting four walls, not to mention a ceiling, Lorelai pointed out. - Chances are, we'll have a few spills, hence the need for this clumpy tarp to protect our pretty, pretty new floor.

She paused and took in his appearance. Though her mother might think so, Luke was most definitely not dressed to paint. While his entire wardrobe primarily consisted of flannel, this particular one was the checkered blue that he looked so good in. She'd really hate to see it go. And he was wearing his trademark blue hat, like he had ever since she'd given it to him.

- I hope you weren't planning on wearing that for painting, she segued.

- What's wrong with what I'm wearing, he asked, confused.

- You're supposed to wear old rags, in case you get paint on them.

- I know that, he told her, raising his brows. - I'm not exactly dressed up for this thing.

- But you're wearing your good flannel, she argued.

- There's such a thing as good flannel, now?

- Yes, Lorelai said, stubbornly. - And you're wearing it.

- Okay, just out of curiosity, what makes a good flannel shirt?

- You wearing it?

- So, by your standard, all my flannel shirts are good ones and as flannel makes up pretty much my entire wardrobe, I might as well paint in the buff.

- I don't mind, Lorelai grinned.

- No, but I do. And I'm pretty sure Rory would, too.

- Fine, flannel stays, she sighed. - But can you at least pick another one?

- Again, what's so special about this one? It's not even one of my best shirts.

- I just really like that one on you.

- You just said you like all my shirts on me, he pointed out.

- No, I only said what I think makes a good flannel shirt, she corrected.

- Fine, Luke sighed, giving in. - But can you at least save me the trouble and pick one that I _can_ wear?

Lorelai pondered for a second, trying to decide which she liked most of the red checkered one that matched the blue he was currently wearing or the green with the white stripes. Normally this would be a straight and easy decision. Red wasn't her favorite color and green was much more Luke's color, but still there was just something about that red one that made her think twice about it. Weighing the two options against one another for a couple of minutes, she finally made her conclusion;

- The green one.

- Okay, Luke said, crossing the hallway to change.

- Oh, and lose the hat, Lorelai called out after him.

Luke neither affirmed nor objected to her request, just simply closed the door behind him. This puzzled Lorelai, slightly, seeing as they were the only two in the house and she definitely had seen it all, already. Many times. Maybe it was the house thing. They were no longer in what he considered his home, so maybe he felt the need for some privacy. Or maybe he was precautious, in case Rory would come home all of a sudden and see him shirtless. Either way, it made Lorelai wonder about the big 'what next' issue. Her moving into his apartment had been more of a given. William couldn't stay in a house where renovations were taking place, and Luke had explicitly invited Lorelai to come with. And from the beginning it had been clear that it'd meant to be a temporary thing, just until the room was done. What would happen once the room was done was still up in the air.

They hadn't yet discussed the issue, as they'd had their hands full with the renovation. She knew that Luke planned to put in a wall over at the apartment, so that William could have his own room there, which pointed towards Luke planning on staying at the apartment. But on the other hand, they had yet to spend a night apart since Luke's return from Maine. To suddenly change that would be to turn their entire routine up-side-down. Of course, Luke could still come and spend the night or she and William could come to him, but it wouldn't be the same. To tell the truth, Lorelai wanted to have Luke around, and more than just for the night. As much as she loved 'dating Luke', she preferred 'domestic Luke'. Of course, she couldn't fully explain what the difference was, since both versions of Luke did the same things, only one lived with her and the other just spent the night. But that fact alone was enough to make a major difference to her.

Of course, all Lorelai had to go on were her own theories. After all, they had yet to discuss it. It could very well be that Luke hadn't given it much thought, either. Before she had time to ponder the issue further, the bedroom door opened again, revealing a hat-less Luke sporting a green and white flannel shirt.

- Happy, he asked.

Lorelai didn't reply, simply leant in and pressed her lips against his. Luke took the invite and wrapped his arms around her, running his tongue along her bottom lip, requesting further access. When Lorelai broke the kiss off and stepped away, she scanned his appearance from head to toe, while subtly licking her lips, appreciatively.

- Very, she grinned. - You look hot.

- You're gonna make me change again, aren't you, Luke sighed.

- Nope, she shook her head. - That one you can ruin.

- Good to know, he chuckled, shaking his head at the whole thing.

Luke gave the room a once over, checking all edges and corners of the tarp to make sure the woodwork underneath was completely protected from potential paint stains. He seemed to be satisfied, because he then began moving all the paint cans and other paint supplies into the room. Feeling that two people doing the carrying wouldn't be more effective than one of them doing it, Lorelai decided to make a different use of herself.

- I'm gonna go get coffee, she informed him. - You want anything?

- Not coffee, no.

- Well, as I haven't seen any pigs out flying recently, I assumed you didn't. I was talking more in the line of tea or something.

Luke paused in the doorway and pondered for a couple of seconds.

- Sure, he turned and nodded. - Tea would be good.

- Be right back, she promised.

She first turned on the coffee maker, and retrieved her coffee can from the cupboard. Just from habit, she proceeded to sniff the content, to make sure Luke hadn't gotten ideas from the dream she'd told him about and tried switching it with decaf. Satisfied that it was still the regular kind, she proceeded to add six spoonfuls to the machine to secure her a good strong coffee. Luke's tea was easy; fill the water boiler to the brink and press a button, instant hot water to add any tea bag of his choice. As Luke hadn't stated which sort he wanted, Lorelai took one bag of each of the three sorts they had available and fetched two mugs.

On her way back, she noticed the two aluminum ladders that Luke had parked behind the couch the night before. The plan had been that Luke were to set up everything while Lorelai went to Friday Night Dinner, which had worked just fine until it had been time to get the ladders. As placing the tarp was more of a job for two people, he had been forced to put all the paint cans, brushes, etc out in the hallway until that could be done. He had also tried placing the two ladders up against the wall in the narrow hallway to avoid having to carry them back down the stairs only to carry them up the very next morning. It had looked to work until Lorelai came home and demonstrated how the ladders were blocking her path to the bathroom. Putting them inside William's room for the time being became out of the question, as Luke remembered from experience that the rubber bumper had a tendency to leave black skid marks on blank surfaces, such as parquet.

Lorelai stared at the two ladders, coffee in one hand, tea in the other. Normally when anything showed signs of being heavy lifting or it simply was something else than shopping bags or take-out, Lorelai would ask Luke or, if Luke wasn't around, some other random guy to do it for her. But she was hesitant on calling Luke. First of all because Luke had already carried the ladders both up and down the stairs, not to mention the fact that he was currently busy with doing other preparations. And secondly, because she knew the ladder wasn't really that heavy and she was feeling guilty for having Luke do all the work, when the whole painting thing had been her idea and Luke was only reluctantly going along with it. She wanted this to be a fun day for him as well, show him that painting with her was an enjoyable experience. He had missed out on that the last time they had planned on painting together.

She placed the two warm mugs on the table and went over to the back of the couch and lifted the closest ladder. It was slightly heavier than she remembered it being the night before, but when she had first gotten an idea in her head, she didn't so easily give up. It was only a quick trip up the stairs, after all. She tilted the front slightly upwards and walked towards the stairs. Getting around the first corner was slightly tricky, but with some wiggling and tilting she managed and continued on her way up, taking one step at a time. The second corner of the narrow staircase was where she got stuck. The front tip hit the wall and when she pulled back, the back tip hit the other wall. She tried wiggling it, but that seemed only to get her further stuck and without knowing _how_ she had done it, the ladder had also opened and was for some reason, impossible to close.

The whole thing reminded her of that episode of Friends where they had tried carrying Ross' new couch up the stairs, only to get stuck at the second corner with no way of getting the damn thing up or down. Getting it into that position had been easy, but getting out of it had turned out to be impossible and in the end they'd had to cut it up into pieces. She'd hate for that to happen here, but no matter what she did she couldn't move the ladder down because of the legs being open and it seemed impossible to move the ladder further up because of the pillar. Trying to wiggle it loose once more, she lost her balance and landed butt first on the corner step with the ladder on top of her. Now she really was stuck.

- Oh crap, she grumbled, trying to get up with no luck. - _Luke?_ Gah, stupid thing. _Luuuke!?!_

- What, Luke asked, coming to the door. - What the..?

- I got stuck, she pouted.

- I can see that, he nodded, quizzically scratching his head at the sight. - How did you..?

- Well, stupid me thought I'd let you have a break from doing all the lifting and carrying, so I tried carrying this damn thing, myself, she sighed, gesturing to the ladder. - And now I can't even get the damn legs to close. I think there's some locking mechanism or something. And I can't get up because the ladder's too heavy.

Luke didn't say anything for a couple of minutes, just nodded firmly as he took it all in, obviously pondering on how he was gonna get her out of her tricky disposition. Suddenly he ducked into the bedroom, saying;

- I'm gonna get the camera.

Lorelai's jaw dropped. Had he really said what she thought he had?

- You wouldn't, she called out.

She didn't know if she should be offended or impressed by Luke's insistence to document her humility. She tried one more time to get out from underneath the ladder, only to fail miserably once again. It didn't take many minutes before Luke returned and snapped a series of pictures of the situation. Lorelai tried her best to look offended when Luke finally lent her a helping hand and got her loose from her staircase prison.

- I can't believe you just left me here so you could get pictures, she pouted, crossing her arms.

- Hey, Luke shrugged, casually. - I thought you _wanted_ to have this day documented, so that we later on could look back and say things like; 'hey, remember the time when you tried carrying the ladder by yourself and ended up getting stuck on the staircase?'

Lorelai tried to stay mad, but just ten seconds in, she had to give into the laughter. Luke was right, those were precisely the moments she had intended on them capturing and now that she was no longer weighed down by the ladder, she was beginning to see exactly how comical the situation really had been. Once she began laughing, Luke did, too. It took them a couple of minutes before they stood a chance at composing themselves and get back to work. Luke went back down to retrieve the ladder.

- I hate to say it, Lorelai told him. - But I think we're gonna have to dismantle the thing to get it loose.

Just as she said it, Luke unlocked the mechanism, tilted the ladder and got the legs to close. Less than a minute later, he had carried the ladder up the stairs and straight into William's room. Lorelai's jaw dropped for the second time that day. She couldn't believe her eyes.

- That's a chauvinistic ladder, she insisted, pointing at it as Luke set it up. - It's anti woman!

- There's no such thing as an anti-woman ladder, Luke pointed out.

- Then explain how you got it loose when I couldn't?

- Maybe it heard your threat to dismantle it, Luke teased, as he walked past her down the stairs to retrieve the second ladder.

Lorelai glared at the ladder that Luke had just set up.

- _Judas_.

The picture of Lorelai in the staircase only turned out to be the first of many 'incidents' that deserved documentation that day. Some of them were results of some accidents, like when Luke accidentally stepped into one of the paint trays after descending from the step ladder and ended up leaving white footprints all over the tarp and on the steps of 'Judas', which Lorelai had announced to Luke she refused to use, as 'Judas' clearly had something against her. Others were way more intentional things, like when Lorelai ran her roller, dripping with light blue paint, over Luke's butt, claiming she was marking her territory. This sparked a paint war like no other, where both participants in the end had blue and white paint all over their clothes and skin.

After finally calling a truce, the two of them took in the sight of each other. Though Lorelai was both concerned and annoyed that she had paint in her hair, the sight of Luke made it impossible for her to scold him. Instead she broke into laughter. Luke, who also had paint stains in his hair, raised his brows at her.

- What?

- Nothing, Rudolph, Lorelai laughed. - _'Rudolph, the red nosed reindeer...'_

Luke's nose was, of course, not red, but light blue, like the paint, but 'Rudolph, the blue nosed reindeer' just didn't have the same ring to it. Luke shook his head at her, but Lorelai kept on laughing.

- Remember the time we got covered with paint from head to toe, she laughed.

- Remember the time you started a paint fight, Luke countered.

- Hey, _you_ started it, Lorelai insisted.

- How is you painting on my butt me starting it?

- Easy, I painted on you, first, but you were the one who turned it into a fight.

Luke groaned in frustration, which made Lorelai laugh even more. To shut her up, Luke grabbed the sides of her wet, paint-covered clothes and pulled her in for a kiss. Not objecting one bit to the affection, Lorelai wrapped her arms around him, parting her lips and allowing him to further deepen the kiss. One kiss lead to many and Lorelai began to feel certain parts of Luke's anatomy responding to her touch. Regretfully she let go of him and stepped back, panting hard.

- We have to clean up, she said, reminding him of certain critical paint stains that needed to be removed as quick as possible.

Luke's response was a guttural groan. The sound alone made Lorelai want to tear his clothes off and have her way with him right there on the paint-covered floor. Her mind kept going back and forth on the dilemma; save her hair or have her way with Luke? Suddenly the most brilliant of ideas struck her and she grabbed Luke's hand, pulling him with her in direction of the bathroom.

- Come on.

- Where are we going, Luke asked, confused.

- To get cleaned up, Lorelai told him, giving him a meaningful wink.

TBC

_AN: Be sure to check out the upcoming "Dirty Comfort" chapter continuation of this chapter._


	122. Who wouldn't want Johnny Depp?

AN: I just wanted to say how happy I was to see the review count increasing again and especially with the many lengthy ones in the bundle. It really makes my day, people. Thank you. As always, major thanks to Steph, who despite leading a busy college life, still takes the time to beta this story. What would I do without you, hon?

**Serena** - Thank you so much, I write for my own enjoyment, but hearing things like that just makes it so much more enjoyable.

**Sutton** - There is no such thing as too many comments (just, so you know for future 'dilemmas'), but thank you for taking the time and writing those you did. I really enjoyed reading every single one of them. And thank you for supporting the journey I had to take. I know there were many who weren't that pleased with me doing that. As for a proposal, I'm focusing on developing their relationship, so it will come when I feel it's time. But I have long, extencive plans, so don't worry, we'll get there.

**smileyGGfan** - Lorelai's relationship with either of her parents is of interest to me and I hope to take them in the directions that I've planned. Big plans, people, big plans. Now I'm sounding like someone else... lol

**rollsdownhill** - It just seemed to fitting. There was bound to be at least some kind of 'accident'.

**cywen69** - Once again, as I'm not american or living anywhere close to the states, I don't get any american channels, so have to say I didn't catch that episode.

**lancer1993** & **karose10** - Aww, I missed you guys, too. My schedule just sucks sometimes.

**Loridhhp** - Hm, too bad I didn't think of the Marge Simpson angle, that would have been a good comeback.

* * *

- It's too short, Lorelai complained for the umpteenth time, running her hand through her now drastically shorter hair.

Despite Luke's thorough work with his hands and the shampoo bottle, he had not managed to wash out all the paint stains from her hair, just as Lorelai had failed to rid his hair of the persistent blue paint. They had both worn hats on their second day of painting to protect their hair from further damage. Luke had stopped by the apartment in the morning, digging out his old grey cap that he used to wear all the time before Lorelai gave him the blue one. Lorelai had, on the other hand, dug through her closet, finally finding the fisherman's hat that she had worn exactly two times before it made its way to the back of her closet. Judging from the hats, when they finally took them off, late Sunday evening, it had been a wise decision.

Come Monday morning, Lorelai exhausted her every persuasion ability to talk her regular salon into taking her in for an emergency hair cut. Luke took a much more relaxed approach and hid his paint-stained head underneath his ball cap. Lorelai finally managed to push him into a barbershop during their furniture shopping spree Tuesday, giving him a forty-five minute break from the Gilmore girl's shopping madness, to which he was grateful. Luke had come out of it looking downright fetching, like he had when he'd sported a similar haircut, back at Rory's high school graduation.

Lorelai, on the other hand, was feeling mighty self-conscious about her new shorter do, despite Luke's many assurances that it suited her. For some reason, she just didn't buy it. The whole short hair was very new to her. She kept running her hand through it and reacted when she reached the tips of it far too soon. Also, she had developed this new fascination of looking into any surface, in which she could spot a reflection. At first, this wasn't really a problem, but as the day turned into days, she had begun driving Rory crazy with this new obsession of hers.

- You look fine, Rory sighed. - I've said it, Luke's said it, as have Sookie, Jackson, Miss Patty, Babette, Stan and Skip, who I believe whistled when he brought the mail this morning.

- Probably 'cause he caught a glimpse of you in the background, Lorelai insisted.

- Ew, Rory frowned. - He's like twice my age.

- So, now Skip's too old, is that what you're saying?

- Are we really having this conversation?

- Hey, a minute ago, you wanted me to be happy that the short-wearing old man was whistling at me, like the minute I get my hair cut, that's the best I can do.

- Oh boy, here we go, Rory sighed. - Skip's not old, but considering he's older than my own mother..., no matter how young my mother might be...

- Nicely saved, Lorelai nodded.

- ...he's not really someone I'd want checking me out, Rory concluded.

- Oh, so now you are looking for someone to check you out, Lorelai teased.

- You're a real delight to hang with, today, you know that?

- Sorry, Lorelai shrugged. - I just can't seem to find anything to watch.

She gestured to the rows and rows of movies in front of them.

- Yeah, Rory agreed. - It is kinda slim pickings today.

- Where did all the good movies go, Lorelai complained, loudly, almost too loudly.

Luckily Kirk was too busy arguing with one of the customers about a late return to notice Lorelai's outburst. Lorelai had never before been so grateful for Kirk's annoying thoroughness in his work as she was now. Poor old Mrs. Thompson, though.

- Do you think Taylor had them all switched out, Lorelai asked her daughter in a much lower voice.

- With what? Where would he get the replacements?

- Maybe through that catalogue he sat me down with that one time?

- What time?

- The time he put me in charge of picking the movie for Movie in the Square night, Lorelai elaborated, shaking her head at Rory's forgetfulness.

- Oh, that time, Rory caught on, letting her eyes wander the titles of the covers in front of her. - Hm... maybe. You never know with Taylor. But I'm kinda struggling with what the reason could be.

- Like Taylor would need a reason, Lorelai scoffed, flipping through the covers in search of something to watch.

- Even Taylor isn't just doing something for the hell of it, Rory pointed out, reading the back of one of the movies on the shelf.

- Maybe he needed the money, Lorelai guessed. - Maybe he has a secret gambling debt he's desperate to pay off.

- So he buys a whole bunch of new movies? What would he do with the old ones?

- Well, sell them of course.

- And this would help him with his gambling debt, how, Rory asked, struggling to see the logic.

- Well, he did say that place gave him a good deal, maybe he got a bulk of movies for next to nothing?

- But how would selling the old ones help him cover the cost, not to mention earn him enough to settle his alleged gambling debt?

- Maybe a collector approached him, Lorelai shrugged.

- What collector would want years and years of old worn out copies of movies you could get from pretty much any video store in America?

- Don't say that, there are some real rare gems hidden in this store's vast movie collection.

- Most of the tapes have that flimmering line at the top of the picture, Rory argued.

- Part of the charm, Lorelai countered.

- My point is that a collector would be more interested in buying copies in mint condition, not ones that you have to use glue and electrical tape to stick together.

- Hey that was _one_ time, Lorelai objected. - And stop doing that, your point is ruining my point.

- Well, your point doesn't make much sense.

- I'm telling you he's switched the movies. Either that or he's holding the tapes hostage, screening anything that we would find of interest before deciding if they are appropriate to include in a place where children might come across it, just one more thing to control the town. It's like he's Stalin reincarnated, or something.

- Stalin was still alive when he was born, Rory pointed out, rolling her eyes.

- Oooh, Lorelai suddenly cried out, eagerly reaching for one of the covers on the shelf, presenting it to Rory. - We can't stop here, this is bat country!

- There goes that screening theory, Rory said, dryly, shaking her head.

- Who cares, maybe it slipped through the cracks when he confiscated the tapes, Lorelai suggested, not one for giving up. - But at least we have our first movie. Johnny Depp, Tobey Maguire as the scary blonde hitchhiker...

- Probably the one time we _would_ kick him out of the bed.

- Who, Lorelai asked, confused. - Tobey?

- Johnny Depp.

- Hm, Lorelai pondered. - Well...

- Are you serious?

- Well, if he kept the hat on, of course, Lorelai said in her defense. - He looked relatively normal with the hat.

Lorelai once more ran her hand through her hair, checking her reflection out in the window.

- Hey, maybe that could work on me, she wondered.

- You look _fine_, Rory stressed. - Stop fishing for compliments, it's getting annoying.

Lorelai gazed once more at her reflection and grimaced.

- At least we got our first movie, she said. - A two hour full on acid trip and the only thing it'll cost us is four-fifty. And no side effects.

- Good deal, Rory agreed.

- So, what do you say we make this our movie night theme; Johnny Depp at his most unattractive.

- We could get Ed Wood, Rory suggested, approving the theme.

- If you can find it.

- Taylor did _not_ switch the movies.

- So you say. What should we have as our third movie?

- Hm, a mind-boggle, Rory frowned, taking a few minutes to think. - Do we really need a third movie?

- Are you seriously suggesting we break with tradition, Lorelai asked, not sure if she was hearing right.

- Dare to be different, Rory shrugged. - We rarely pay attention to the third movie, anyway.

With this as the winning argument, the girls looked up the second movie to find it at its regular place on the shelf and headed for the counter. As usual, Kirk gave Lorelai crap for losing her third permanent rental card, but after a couple of minutes of arguing back and forth, he gave in and let her pay, issuing her with a temporary card and a warning. Doose's was their next stop, where they picked out enough junk food to clog any person's arteries. As they walked out of the store and headed in the direction of the house, Lorelai looked over her shoulder, taking the opportunity to glance at the lit windows above the diner, where Luke and William were spending the night.

The whole thing had been Luke's idea. Well, not the junk-food filled movie night, but that Lorelai and Rory should spend the evening together, just the two of them, to make up a little for all the missed opportunities earlier. Lorelai had argued that it wasn't fair of them to send him upstairs while they had their mother-daughter night. Her intention had been to suggest Luke could join them, but Luke had gone in the other direction, suggesting he could sleep above the diner for the night and take William with him. Lorelai hadn't been particular keen on that aspect of the idea, not just because she hated being apart from her baby boy, but also because this would mean she would be sleeping alone for the first time since Luke had come back to Stars Hollow. She just didn't know how she would handle it. But as Luke had sounded genuinely eager to be spending the day alone with his son, Lorelai hadn't said anything.

It was funny how it had only been for a couple of hours, yet she sorely missed them both. Lorelai remained silent the whole way home. Of course, with Rory babbling away, made it less noticeable. It wasn't until they had set the table, paid Joe for the pizza and was watching the opening sequence of the movie, that Rory finally noticed that Lorelai hadn't said anything since they had exited Doose's market. Probably due to Lorelai not talking along to the bat-line or making her usual side comments.

- Hey, you're quiet, she said.

- Sorry, Lorelai shrugged, realizing she had been too preoccupied with her own mind to pay attention to the movie.

- It's only for one night, Rory pointed out, as if she was reading Lorelai's mind.

- I know, Lorelai sighed. - But it's just so ironic. Here we have the room all done painted and furnished and what is the first thing we do? We send Luke and William to spend the night above the diner.

- For one night, Rory reminded her. - So that we could take the time and have our patented mother-daughter movie night.

- Is it stupid I miss them?

- Depends, did you miss me as much?

Lorelai smiled, thinking back to the time when Rory had been just a baby. Even though she had to work a lot of the time, Rory was with her for most of it. They didn't even spend a night apart until Rory was in elementary school and had her first sleepover at Lane's. Lorelai was still, to this day, convinced that the first night apart had been far worse for her than it had been for Rory. She had more than a few times considered going over to the Kim house and take Rory home, but one late-night phone call to Sookie and she had been talked out of doing it. It was a major adjustment to allow Rory to sleep over at Lane's once in a while. Luckily Rory didn't ask too often, either.

Remembering the many trials they had gone through from getting used to spending occasional nights apart to spending weeks, even months with no contact but the phone, Lorelai turned and looked at her firstborn.

- What do you think, she asked.

They turned their attention back to the movie, where Duke was currently imagining the other hotel guests to be reptiles and he had just pulled off his hat to reveal his semi-bald appearance. Now that they had addressed the issue on her mind, Lorelai found herself returning to her old self, talking along with the movie, citing her favorite lines and making her usual comments.

- You know, Lorelai said, much later. - Luke would hate this movie... I think I stand a better chance at talking him into watching the First Wives Club than this one.

- Whatever do you see in him?

- The way he cares, Lorelai shrugged, casually. - The way he listens, that he pretends to be this big grump to hide his heart of gold, that he can keep up with me, how he knows what's up just with one look, what a great father he is to William.

- Oh, that, Rory joked. - Then I guess we can accept his severely lacking taste in movies.

- There are a few more reasons I could add to the list, Lorelai continued. - But as saying them out loud would forever scar your innocent little head, I'll keep it to myself.

- My head appreciates it.

- Yeah, I'm kind that way.

- Hey, while we're yet again on the subject of Luke...

- I haven't talked about him _that_ much, Lorelai objected.

- I was just trying to segue onto the subject of grandpa.

- Just out of curiosity, how do you segue from Luke to Richard Gilmore, Lorelai wondered.

- When I plan to ask whether or not you and Luke are any closer to telling grandpa about the two of you, Rory replied, then added. - Are you?

- We've talked about it, Lorelai admitted. - But we don't have any specific plans as to when or even how.

- How about inviting him over for dinner, Rory suggested. - Grandpa hasn't seen William's room, yet. Plus, it'd be on your own turf, so maybe Luke would be more comfortable.

- I don't know, maybe.

- You could try and run this by Luke and if he's up for it, we could ask grandpa to come over next Friday, a kind of alternative Friday Night Dinner.

- We'll see, hon, Lorelai half-promised.

She was still looking as much forward to the imminent 'meet the boyfriend' dinner, as she would to having a root canal. She did see the points that both Rory and Luke were making, but as she was yet not entirely convinced that this change would last, she had serious doubts about reaching out and doing this gesture, seeing as it could very well blow up in her face.

- Oh, shoot, Rory suddenly said. - Mom, it's an hour and fifteen minutes in.

- Alright, close your eyes instantly and do not open until the retching is no more, Lorelai instructed, covering her own eyes just in time for the camera to pan in on the toilet bowl.

Lorelai didn't see the man throw up, but she heard the noises loud and clear.

- Gah, she shuddered. - I swear, my mental images are probably worse than the scene itself.

- It's funny how we can watch people getting sliced and diced, but have to cover our eyes for simple puking, Rory pointed out.

- Speak for yourself. I just had a whole bunch of red vines and don't really have the desire to see them come up in reverse.

With the well-timed interruption, their discussion regarding Richard came to a halt. After another ten minutes, Lorelai managed to push it to the back of her mind. The first movie came to an end, and after a quick bathroom break, the girls watched Ed Wood. The first half of the movie was filled with their usual chatter.

- You know, Lorelai said, as Ed pulled out his false teeth to scare the kids. - It's amazing how a man as sexy as Johnny Depp can play such unattractive roles.

- Yeah, Rory agreed. - The man sure loves dressing down.

- They really should combine those teeth with that other haircut, now _then_ we would have our third movie.

- Something tells me that if we just wait a few years, we'll get another one.

The remainder of the movie was filled with less and less chatter. When she felt it had gotten too quiet, Lorelai turned to Rory only to find her sound asleep with her head on the arm of the sofa. It didn't look like a very comfortable sleeping position, but as Lorelai hated to be woken up right after falling asleep, she let Rory be and just found a blanket to cover her up with once the film ended. Thus ended the movie night, but Lorelai wasn't sleepy one bit. However, as she didn't feel like disturbing Rory's sleep, she decided to just clean up the junk food and then get ready for bed. Maybe she could crack open the book Luke had bought her. She had watched the movie about a million times, but hadn't read the book yet.

When she returned from the bathroom, she stopped by William's room and turned on the light. The room was, so far, only contained a few select pieces of furniture. William's crib was placed in the left corner of the room, across from the window, which had a dark pull down curtain with a pattern of little stars and moons on it to block out unwanted sunlight. Next to the window stood a light blue wardrobe with sliding doors on one side and a couple of dark blue shelves on the other which, at the moment held the stuffed animals that wasn't fortunate enough to have a spot in William's crib as well as all of William's baby books. Next came a couple of brightly colored toy boxes, one red, one yellow and one blue. Each of them held a selection of William's toys. He hadn't had the time yet, but Lorelai knew that William would be having a lot of fun with pouring his toys out on the ground and then put them back into the boxes, like any other kid. Finally at the very end on the right hand side, next to a reading lamp, was a bean bag chair where either Lorelai or Luke could sit and read to their son.

The only thing occupying the middle of the floor, was a play mat that made up a small town with roads that William, when he got older, could drive his toy cars on. Lorelai and Luke had decided to leave as much floor space as they could, as this would be William's main playing area when he would be in his room, so they made sure to just stick with the most necessary furniture to begin with. The walls were still without decorations, but the paint job with the two shades of blue made them feel less empty than if they had just chosen one color. The struggle with getting an even edge between the lighter and darker blue had been worth it.

Looking over the room one more time, Lorelai turned off the light and shut the door behind her. She decided to at least attempt at sleeping first, as she did feel slightly tired from a busy few days with a lot of work and little rest. It took her ten minutes of staring up at the ceiling to realize that sleep was not going to be cooperative. She gazed at the book on her nightstand, wondering if it could help her tire, but her mind didn't seem to want to focus on anything besides the fact that Luke wasn't in the bed beside her and wouldn't be for the entire night.

After another five minutes of obsessing, she reached for the cordless phone she kept by the bed in case of an emergency. She dialed the familiar number and lifted the phone to her ear...

TBC

_AN: Stay tuned for another "Dirty Comfort" chapter, after these messages..._


	123. Jitters

AN: Some very happy news, everyone; Comfort Food is now two years old. Aww, my baby's growing up. In honor of this momentous occasion I worked my butt off to get the chapter ready for today. Special thanks to loversgilmore21 for remembering the "birthday" and, of course, many thanks to Steph for being such a great beta for two years, now.

**smileyGGfan** - Yeah, the hair thing just kinda happened, so I went with figuring out how to deal with it and it felt right to me that Lorelai would be self-conscious about it. And I think the season 3 finale look was a great Luke-look.

**cywen69** - Actually, the CW website has this block for people outside of the states watching their episodes. We can see the trailers, but the full episodes are automaticly blocked. And, I actually caught that about Johnny and Sherilyn on something called "Celebrity Bites" they show every now and then inbetween other programs.

**Loridhhp** - I loved your "Rory-comment". Hm... I have green hair at the moment, maybe I should get that fake-tan spray and go and see Willy Wonka ;)

**Copop** - I'll see what I can do about upping William-babble time. But since he's still only nine months old, it's difficult to give him "words" without going overboard. ;)

* * *

It was amazing the impact normally little sounds could have in an otherwise quiet room. Although, like any other kid growing up, Luke had read his share of comic books, he had never really bought into the concept of the 'dripping tap' torment that the authors so loved to use. But he was beginning to wonder if maybe there was at least a smidgen of truth in how a thing like that could be enough to drive a man insane. There wasn't a leak anywhere that he knew of. However, Lorelai was, and had been ever since she'd come into the kitchen fifteen minutes ago, tapping her fingers, nervously against the counter top. At first it had been almost unnoticeable, but as the minutes ticked by and her fingernails began hitting the wood, the sound was beginning to resemble metal rods banging against steel pipes in a stone corridor. Frankly, it was becoming unbearable. Luke was beginning to wish that William could hurry up and wake up from his nap, soon, so that Lorelai could have something to do, besides, unknowingly driving him insane.

Suddenly the tapping stopped and Luke sighed, gratefully, as silence once again washed over the room. He checked the consistency of the sauce he was preparing and turned down the heat to let it simmer. In the background, he could hear Lorelai moving around. Although he couldn't exactly make out what she was doing, as he was currently standing with his back towards her, it sounded like she was either pacing back and forth, or she was tidying, alternatively absentmindedly moving things around to keep herself occupied. He decided to ignore it for the time being, while he poured the finished rice into a heat-resistant bowl and placed a lid on top of it. He was well into checking the meat, when he felt her breath upon his neck. Normally he didn't mind when Lorelai did things like that, like wrapping her arms around his waist, kissing his cheek and neck just out of the blue. Even when she did it in the middle of the diner, he didn't mind it, but what she was doing right now was getting on his nerves.

- Stop doing that, he said, sternly.

- Stop what, Lorelai asked, confused, peaking over his shoulder to see what he was doing.

- _That_, Luke emphasized. - Stop acting as though I'm gonna burn the food or something. I've known how to cook longer than I've fixed my own car. It's what I do for a living. I know what I'm doing.

- Sorry, Lorelai muttered. - I'm just nervous. This just feels like a disaster waiting to happen. Do you think it's too late to back out?

Luke merely gave her a look, his raised brows and tilted head asking her; _'and how do you suggest we do that?'_

- We could say William's sick, she suggested.

- Lorelai, he warned her.

- Hey, did we remember to get scotch, she asked, changing the subject. - Dad's not really a beer person. The man needs his strong liquor. Oh, and we need ice. Dad usually takes his bare, but every now and then he prefers it on the rocks.

- It's in the liquor cabinet and we have ice in the freezer, Luke reminded her. - And could you stop pacing for just _one_ second?

- We probably shouldn't tell him you're living here, Lorelai continued. - Not that you're _officially_ living here, of course, but I don't think dad would be too happy about our permanent sleepover arrangement. The last thing I'd want to do is to flat out announce our sex life to the man. And we did agree about holding back the paternity issue for a while, right? Oh, and a couple of advice or tips or whatever on how to talk to him.

- Lorelai, I've talked to him, before, remember, he pointed out. - Several times at Rory's graduation comes to mind. I know how to get along with your old man.

- Yes, but that was back when you were 'just a friend'-Luke and not 'the boyfriend'-Luke, Lorelai sighed. - Dad is not really good on the whole boyfriend aspect. Granted, I haven't given him that many opportunities, he just doesn't have any good past experiences dealing with my beaus. Granted Chris got me pregnant.., okay, so you've done that, too, but dad doesn't need to know that fact, yet. And despite the whole engagement thing, he never had a one-on-one with Max, so, in a way, we're on virgin territory here...

- Stop it, please, Luke pleaded. - You're gonna start making _me_ nervous.

- Sorry, she cringed. - I just have these millions of scenarios where everything goes to hell running a marathon through my head.

- Hey, he murmured, running his hand through her short hair, letting his thumb stroke her cheek. - It's gonna be okay.

- Just hear these ground rules, she pleaded. - Dad has this silent intimidation thing going for him. He might try and stare you down. Don't back down if he does. Don't take crap from him, but try not to go into full rant mode, either, because as much as the man loves to criticize, he's not that good at handling criticism. But, by all means, if he attacks you in any way, defend yourself. He might do that thing where he masquerade his insults as compliments, a very fine-tuned art in the Gilmore family, not to mention the Hartford socialite in general. Those are hard to counter, so just try and not let it get to you. No matter what he might end up saying about you or us, just remind yourself that the important thing is that _I_ love you and that you're wonderful exactly the way you are...

Luke smiled as Lorelai continued on with her ramble without as much as noticing her own Freudian slip. Lorelai noticed him smiling and gave him a confused look.

- What?

She honestly didn't seem to realize what she'd just accidentally let slip, so Luke decided not to make a confrontation out of it. Instead he decided to try and calm her down.

- It'll be okay, he promised. - Your dad will come, we'll eat, show him the room and if he decides to have a problem with me or us, then it'll be his problem, okay? I'm not about to let your dad scare me away. You can count on that. And we can talk more about the whole 'moving in' ordeal when he leaves, okay?

Lorelai looked at him for a couple of seconds, before taking a deep breath and nodding.

- Okay, she agreed.

Still having to keep an eye on the food, Luke kissed her briefly, before letting her go and turning back to the stove, stirring the thick sauce some more and turning down the heat. The food was practically done, so all that was left to do was to keep it warm until Richard got there. Lorelai seemed to have calmed down significantly and managed to take a seat by the table and simply observe his cooking. Not more than five minutes later, the door bell rang.

- Crap, Lorelai muttered, her nervousness returning full-time.

- It's gonna be okay, Luke reminded her.

- Okay, she nodded, then called out in the direction of Rory's room; - _Rory_, grandpa's here!

- _Be out in a jiff_, came Rory's reply.

Lorelai went to open the door. Luke removed the pans from the heat and removed his 'mapron' (a Lorelai Gilmore invented expression, meaning; manly apron), hanging it and the oven mitts over by the door, before following. If he was to be completely honest, the aspect of officially meeting Lorelai's father, did feel terrifying, but he wasn't about to give Lorelai any reason to back out of it. Any serious relationship came with meeting the parents in one way or another. And as Lorelai had already met the two people who had been his substitute parents since he had lost his own, it was only right that he did as well.

One thing that went through his mind was how Richard had chosen to dress for the evening. Although Lorelai and Rory had stressed several times, whenever they had talked about this dinner, that they wanted the whole thing to be casual. Luke felt severely underdressed for the occasion. Everytime before when Luke had encountered Richard Gilmore in any way, he had always been in some sort of a suit and it was hard to imagine him wearing anything else. One thing Buddy had taught him, regarding dealing with businessmen, in terms of work (but Luke felt the same thing applied when dealing with such people outside of work, as well) was that you were always to dress as good as the person you're meeting, or better. If he went to the bank, he left the jeans and flannel at home and pulled out dark trousers and a collared shirt. Granted he had changed out of his work attire and he had left his trademark blue cap up in Lorelai's bedroom, he was still only wearing his nicer everyday clothes, a checkered shirt and a relatively new pair of jeans.

Luke's heart sunk in his chest when Lorelai opened the door and Richard appeared in his usual suit. The only thing that was remotely casual about Richard's appearance was the lack of a tie. Luke gave Lorelai a look, refraining from asking; _This is casual?_ Lorelai shrugged and gave him a look that seemed to say; _To him, this is casual._

- Hi, dad, she greeted him, then nervously bit her own lip as she glanced over to Luke. - Um, you remember Luke, right?

Richard's attention turned to him and Luke found himself, all of a sudden feel as though he was three feet tall at the most. Lorelai was all too right about how different it was to meet this man as the boyfriend.

- Hello, again, Luke, Richard said, reaching out his hand to greet him.

- Mr Gilmore, Luke nodded, politely, shaking his hand, remembering to keep his grip firm, but not to overdo it, either.

- Oh, please, son, Richard replied, letting his eyes wander, knowingly, back and forth between the two of them. - Call me, Richard.

- Richard, Luke complied.

- How was the drive, dad, Lorelai asked, obviously trying to keep the conversation flowing and avoid any silent, awkward moments.

- It was good, thank you, Richard nodded. - Not too much traffic, really. I suspect most people are away on holiday.

- Yeah, Lorelai nodded. - There's a big rush at the inn, now. We're booked on a ninety percent average, now-a-days.

- That is very impressive for a business starting out, like yours, Richard complimented. - And, risking to change the topic entirely, I must say, for everytime I see this new hairdo of yours, it seems to suit you better and better.

- I still think it's too short, Lorelai said, self-consciously, pulling on her hair, as though it would help lengthen it.

- You look _fine_, Luke stressed, then turned his attention back to Richard. - Seriously, sometimes I think she's just fishing for compliments.

Richard chuckled and nodded.

- Oh, don't I know it. My Emily's the same. Regretfully, I am not as observant as I sometimes should be, that often I don't even notice that anything has changed in the first place.

As Richard proceeded to follow Luke into the living room, Lorelai stood aback, gawping for a couple of seconds, before finally closing the door behind her father.

- The key element in making up for that, Richard continued. - Is to let her know when she least expects it.

Luke nodded. So far this seemed to be going well. Richard had been quick on the uptake on the status between him and Lorelai. He hadn't as much as frowned upon Luke's casual appearance and now Richard was even seemingly giving him tips on how to keep his relationship successful. Lorelai seemed to think so, too, as she went to get the scotch from the liquor cabinet.

- A drink, dad, she asked. - Scotch on the rocks?

- That sounds great, Richard nodded, taking a seat on the couch.

When Rory decided to make an appearance, Luke quickly excused himself to go get the food ready and headed towards the kitchen.

- _He cooks_, Luke heard Richard ask.

- _Well, we sure don't_, Rory chuckled.

- _Luke owns the diner in town, dad, remember_, Lorelai reminded her father.

- _Oh, that's right_, Richard said. - _I better go and check it out one of these days._

Although Lorelai had kept herself busy with moving and rearranging things, something as simple as setting the table, apparently hadn't crossed her mind, so Luke retrieved plates and such from the cupboard and quickly set the table for four, seeing as William was still sleeping. He then placed the rice, meat, vegetable and sauce bowls on the table, before letting the Gilmore's know that the food was ready.

The meal went off without a hitch. Richard passed on several compliments to the chef, with Lorelai and Rory both being more than happy to chime in. The conversation remained very positive. Luke noticed that Rory in particular seemed to be relieved with Richard's light mood. Luke recalled Lorelai mentioning earlier that when Rory had brought Dean with her to a Friday Night Dinner, that Richard, in particular, had been anything but accepting. But then again, as Luke thought about it, he had always thought that Dean was a real punk, so he couldn't say that he was entirely surprised by that outcome. He was, however, curious what the Gilmore's views on Jess was.

As the meal came to an end, Luke motioned to start clearing off the table, but Rory insisted upon doing it instead and Lorelai insisted that she would do the dishes. The three adults had barely made it out of the kitchen, when the baby monitor went off, alerting them that William had woken up from his nap.

- Oh yeah, that's right, Lorelai said. - Dad, you haven't seen William's room, yet.

The three of them headed up the stairs, towards the door where brightly colored letters spelled out 'William's room'. Lorelai gave kinda of a 'ta-da' gesture to the room, before going straight over to the crib, where William was already sitting up, one hand clutching his bunny, the other stuck in his mouth, looking at them.

- Hey, baby, she cooed, picking him up, giving him a kiss on the forehead. - Did you have a good nap? Did you?

William responded by giving a big yawn.

- You're still sleepy, huh?

Richard took in the sight of the room, nodding, approvingly.

- The painters did a great job, he told her. - Were the two shades their suggestion or yours?

- Oh, we painted it, Lorelai corrected him, as she checked William's diaper. - I have to take this one to get a new diaper. I'll be right back.

- Did you help paint this, Richard asked Luke, after Lorelai had left the room.

- Yeah, well, Luke shrugged, hoping Richard didn't press on the matter more than necessary.

While Richard seemed to actually be open to the idea of him in Lorelai's life, Luke knew that to reveal the final part of his role in Lorelai's, not to mention William's life, would be the king of bad ideas. This was something that they needed to ease, not just Richard, but both the elder Gilmore's into, step by step.

- You love her, don't you, Richard more stated than asked.

Luke did something between a shrug and a nod. Of course, there was no doubt in his own mind on what he felt for this woman, but to bluntly come and admit it to her father before he had told her, himself, didn't feel like a good idea, so he hoped the message came across. Richard merely nodded in response, not saying anything more about it. Instead he let the topic go back to the room and when Lorelai returned from the bathroom, William was now changed and much more awake, not to mention energized.

The three adults, plus infant returned downstairs, where Rory had just finished clearing the table. Now, with William awake, the conversation became much more centered on him. Richard wanted to know how William's vocabulary skills were developing, if he was saying any specific words yet. Lorelai, of course, mentioned that William had said several variations that she interpreted to be 'mama' and that he just last week had called Rory 'Wo-yy', but that it hadn't seemed to stuck yet. Lorelai gave Luke a subtle look, as she left out that William's first word, had in fact been 'baba'. It was like she wanted to tell him that they would tell her dad all about that, later, when they were ready to come out with the whole truth. Luke simply nodded in return.

Other than that, Rory was very much in focus, as they were now only weeks away from college starting up and Richard was curious whether or not Rory knew what classes she wanted to take this year, as well as which dorm she would be moving into the coming term. A slight frown appeared on his face, when Rory revealed that she would be living off-campus with her boyfriend, but he seemed determined not to say anything against it, despite his obvious objections to the idea.

All in all, when it was time for Richard to leave, they had managed through the entire evening, without any arguments breaking out. Richard even resisted an obvious urge to mention is concerns about Rory's choices to Lorelai. Obviously, the man was beginning to learn that certain words were not welcome in his daughter's home. When he bid them all goodnight, he explicitly told Luke that he hoped to see him again soon and Luke found himself wondering for the rest of the evening if this had been Richard's way of giving his blessing.

TBC 


	124. Sookie 2 Vikings 0

AN: I know, it's been forever. I tried my best to get this up sooner, but the muses decided to go on strike. It's funny how you can know exactly what you want, but not be able to write it. Anyways, since last time, I turned 24, got certified as a Java Programmer and my sister came and visited mw for the first time since I moved out of my parents house, eight years ago. I've also now gotten hooked on Veronica Mars, which is lucky since I am attending a convention for the show next month. Busy schedule, lol. Anyways, happy belated birthday to Copop and to anyone else of you who's just had a birthday. I seem to recall several of my readers have May birthdays. And as usual, big thanks to Steph for the beta :)

**karose10** - You'll see our beloved Emily again, soon ;)

**Copop** - I guess this is what happens when weeks go between updates. Anyways, Richard coming over for dinner was mentioned in the previous chapter.

**Loridhhp** - I can only be cryptic and say that you will know soon enough.

**penguinopus** - Not in the next chapter, but eventually.

* * *

There were just days where you wished you'd never gotten out of bed, and this was one of those days. It wasn't that it had started out bad. In fact, it had really been a beautiful morning. Sun shining on a clear blue sky, a gentle breeze rustling through the leaves. William being especially happy to see his mama leaning over his crib and planting a big, sloppy kiss on her cheek as soon as she picked him up. Coming to work at her very own fully packed inn and not a complaint in sight. Even Michel seemed to be in one of his better moods. Of course she could have been imagining it, but Lorelai was sure she had actually spotted a smile on the French concierge's face. In other words; something was bound to go wrong...

It wasn't even lunch before a loud ruckus came from the kitchen and Lorelai's beautiful, problem free morning evaporated. Before she even had time to ask what had happened, she had to take care of the immediate issues; making sure the fire had been put out properly, calling in the repairman to assess the situation and finally; calming the panicking head chef down enough to get a full report on the incident. Even as the men were unhooking the wires to take it in for repairs, Sookie was still paper bagging it.

- I killed another Viking, she moaned. - Vikings! I've killed Vikings! Plural! More than one! I'm a... serial killer!

- Honey, Lorelai said, grasping both of Sookie's shoulders to steady her. - Firstly, you're not a serial killer before you've killed another one.

- Oh, God, Sookie cried out. - Another one?!

Lorelai could already see where this was headed and took a firmer grasp on her friend.

- And secondly, _secondly_, hon, please, Sookie, look at me, she told her friend. - Remember what Henry said; you didn't kill it. Slightly wounded it, maybe, but it'll be up and running, again, in no time. As good as new, just a little bit crisp on the edges, that's all.

- What if he can't fix it? What if he's just saying he can?

- He has fifteen years worth of experience, Lorelai reminded her. - I think he knows what he's doing. Besides, he's already named the price and time he needs to get it going again, as well as giving me a detailed description of the problem in techno-jargon, which I wouldn't be able to decipher if my life depended on it, but that's beside the point.

- What if he missed something when he checked it, Sookie suggested.

- He sounded like he was in control and as he has yet not to deliver on his promise, I'm gonna take his word on it.

- Lorelai, Michel droned as he entered the kitchen, carrying Lorelai's cell phone. - Someone wants you, desperately. And for future reference; if you insist on leaving your phone on my desk for me to fetch you like a puppy everytime someone rings, either change your ringtone, or one of these days you might find it accidentally crushed under my antique paper weight.

Lorelai reached out and snapped up the phone from him.

- You won't do that. I'm your boss and I could fire you, she said, triumphantly, flipping her phone open. - Hello?

- _Power abuser_, the concierge grumbled as he moved to go back to his desk.

Lorelai responded to Michel's comment by pointing her tongue at him behind his back, making even Sookie forget her troubles and giggle.

- _Is this a bad time_, a familiar voice at the other end enquired.

- Rachel, hi, Lorelai said, slightly caught off guard. - N-no, um, just your average chaos and disaster mornings; one Viking down and my concierge might be plotting to reinvent the French Revolution.

- _Sounds like a handful_, Rachel acknowledged. - _Maybe I should leave you to it._

- No, I can talk, Lorelai assured her. - Immediate crisis has been averted and I need the smoke to clear before any further decisions are made. And by that I mean I literally need the smoke to clear.

Rachel chuckled at the other end.

- So, what inspired the call, Lorelai wondered.

- _Well_, Rachel sighed. - _I was going to ask a favor._

- A favor?

- _A big one._

- Which is?

- _I'm probably asking for the moon here, but I was wondering if there's any way you could come over?_

- Come over, Lorelai asked, confused. - As in now?

- _If it's not too much trouble._

Lorelai furrowed her brows at Rachel's crypticness. Of course she didn't really know her that well, the two of them more being acquaintances rather than actual friends, but from the little she knew about the woman, this was to be considered as strange behavior.

- And this isn't in any way something you could solve over the phone, Lorelai enquired, reluctant to leave her inn in this state.

- _I kinda need your presence here._

- Any way you could at least tell me what it is?

- _Preferably not._

Lorelai wanted to say that she couldn't, even had a pretty damn good excuse as well, but something was stopping her; Rachel sounded distressed. Of course she knew Max well enough to know that it was not one of _those_ kind of distress calls. But something was up and Lorelai would be lying if she said she wasn't concerned... and maybe a tad bit curious of the major secrecy. But could she take off right now with the inn in this state?

- I have a lot on my plate right now, she began.

- _I understand_, Rachel sighed.

- So, you think you could give me an hour?

Lorelai could tell a smile had just appeared on Rachel's face

- We might be talking an hour and a half, or more if traffic's bad, Lorelai warned her.

- _I_ think _I can hold on until then_, Rachel assured her.

- I'm assuming I won't be needing an address or directions from you.

- _Unless you've recently suffered amnesia, I shouldn't think so._

- Alright, see you later.

Lorelai flipped the phone shut and gave the kitchen another once-over, taking in the entire scenario while taking a deep breath.

- Okay, she said. - I've decided. We close the kitchen down for the day.

Sookie looked like she was ready to object, but Lorelai held her hand up to stop her.

- We give the crew the day off, she continued. - While we let the smoke clear and Henry work his magic with the stove, which should be back sometime tomorrow morning.

- We have an inn full of people, Sookie objected. - They're going to need a place to eat.

- We'll apologize for the inconvenience, point them in the direction of our local cuisine, Lorelai suggested, ignoring the obvious snort from Sookie when mentioning the word 'cuisine'. - We'll help them get reservations, issue take-out menus and numbers if they don't want to dine out. And to make up for any trouble, we'll give them a ten percent discount at the restaurant, tomorrow.

- You're good, Sookie complimented. - Fifteen minutes and you've worked out a whole solution. Me, on the other hand, two hours later I am still panicking.

- Yes, but drop me off at a deserted island and I'll be dead of starvations within a week or two. You, on the other hand, they could come back for a year later and you'd be serving your rescuers a gourmet meal.

- True, Sookie giggled.

- So, you think you and Michel can handle things on your own for a couple of hours?

- Oh that's right, Sookie realized. - What did Rachel want?

- Beats me, Lorelai shrugged. - But it sounded urgent, so...

- Okay, just one last thing, Sookie said. - That ringtone Michel was talking about, what is it?

- Remember that Finnish folk song I found a couple of weeks ago?

- Oh God, that one _is_ annoying.

- Yeah, so, of course I had to make it my ringtone. Took Luke less than thirty minutes to ban me from ever using it again.

- So, now, of course, it's your permanent ringtone, Sookie guessed.

- God, no, Lorelai chuckled. - Have you heard how annoying it is? Seriously, fifteen seconds into it and _I_ want to crush the phone with an antique paper weight. No, I just put it on to bug Michel.

With the inn back under control and the head chef in a better mood, Lorelai was already at Rachel's door an hour after they had hung up. It felt weird to be back outside this very door, considering the last time she had been there, she'd been engaged with the man whose name was on the lease. Now, not only was this ions later and she was seriously involved with a completely different man with a baby to boot, but the ex whose door she was knocking on was now involved with her boyfriend's ex. Even though she had known this fact for a couple of months now, it was still a bit weird to think about it. Another thing that caught her attention, was how the same everything looked. Not that a mere doorway had much potential for change, but still.

Lorelai rang the bell and waited for a couple of seconds. The apartment wasn't that big and she wasn't at all surprised when she heard someone at the other side within five seconds. Rachel greeted her with a somewhat nervous smile and immediately stepped aside to let her in.

- Wow, Lorelai uttered, as she stepped into the narrow foyer. - This place looks almost exactly the same.

- Almost, Rachel agreed. - Change is more in the little details. You might notice the travel books stuck in between his serious literature. As well as my infamous clothesline that's now permanently stretched across the livingroom with my recently developed photos. And my infamous collection of elephant figurines sitting in the windowsill.

- Oh, wow, Lorelai nodded, picking one of the figurines up. - They are really pretty.

- Some people collect shot glasses, I take home hand carved replica's of exotic animals.

- Not that I mind getting an updated tour of the place, but you didn't call me here to tell me about your trip, Lorelai pointed out. - So what's up?

- Well, cliff notes version, Rachel said, pointing to something sitting on the kitchen table. - I'm freaking out.

Lorelai took in the sight of the so far unopened box and suddenly it all made sense.

- Oh, she said.

- And, I know I should have just said this over the phone, Rachel acknowledged. - But as I can't be sure what range Patty's phone stops picking up other people's conversations, I just felt like being a bit cautious. Normally I don't care much what people say, but this is something I'd prefer wouldn't come out until I decide.

Lorelai could understand that. As much as she loved her town, at times it was like she was living under a magnifying glass. Of course it had been much worse before the truth about William had been revealed, but she hadn't completely managed to shake the gossip queens off her trail just yet.

- How long have you suspected it?

- It's been a couple of weeks, now, Rachel confessed. - I wanted to give it some time, see if it was just stress before driving myself nuts with the 'what if's. And I wanted to wait until we got home, so I could take the test without Max seeing it.

- Speaking of, when _did_ you come home, Lorelai wondered.

- Yesterday.

- So, then where's Max?

- Work.

- Already?

- We're talking about the man, who, before I entered his life, spent his summers teaching at various colleges around the country.

- Right, Lorelai chuckled. - Momentary slip of the mind.

- It's been a couple of years since you knew him.

- That it has, Lorelai agreed.

Rachel's eyes wandered over to the box on the table. Lorelai knew that look far too well. The very first time she had to take a pregnancy test, she had carried it with her in her backpack for several hours before she had finally convinced herself to take it in one of the empty stalls in the girl's second floor bathroom, conveniently skipping fifth period gym at the same time. Back then she had been convinced that the longer she postponed taking the test, the longer it 'wasn't real'. Yet the major 'what if' haunted her for those hours from the first time she got the suspicion, until she finally took that test.

- You know, speaking from personal experience here, putting yourself through limbo like this, is not something I would recommend, Lorelai told her. - Whatever the result is, it's better just knowing right away, than mulling over the possibilities. You might get a big relief when you pick that test up, or you'll know for sure and you can take it from there.

Rachel sighed, but didn't argue with her, taking the box with her into the bathroom. While she waited, Lorelai walked over to the bookcase, letting her fingers idly wander across the titles. It looked weird to suddenly see brightly colored books on Africa, Asia, and South America stuffed between Max's collection of first editions, but on the other hand, the shelf had been in need of a bit of color. She paused as her finger reached 'Swann's Way' and Lorelai shook her head as she thought back to the first, last and only attempt she would ever make at reading it. Who had she been kidding? Forty pages per sentence was a bit out of her league. Attempting to read it in the first place had been the direct result of two things; her big mouth and her need to impress. Kinda the same thing that had gone down when she ended up going fishing with Alex. She hadn't wanted to appear less intelligent than Max and she hadn't wanted to say anything bad about Alex's favorite hobby.

With Luke it was different. Sure he had interests she didn't share, just as she had things on her own, as well. But she didn't feel the need to put on an act for Luke. First of all, he would see right through it, having known her for a total of eight years, now. Secondly, Luke seemed to truly want her for her. Not that she claimed that the others had wanted her to be someone different, but they had simply not known her, not like Luke did. It had taken Max a mere handful of meetings before he had acted, and it had taken Alex less than that. So, of course, neither one of them knew much about her less flattering sides at the point of either incident. Luke had witnessed everything about her, had seen her least proud moments and when it came to it, it didn't turn him away from her.

Lorelai shook her head and picked the book up, feeling the weight of it in her hand one more time. Of course, she really only had her impression to go on, but Rachel didn't really strike her as a big reader. At least not in the Proust category of big readers. But from the little she gathered of her life together with Max, it wasn't an issue. In fact, they seemed to really cope with making compromises. The fact that Rachel had now been living with him for almost a full year without bolting and that Max had taken an actual vacation away from teaching proved it.

She heard the toilet flush and put the book back where it belonged. Rachel took a deep breath as he exited the bathroom, the box and test apparently still in the bathroom.

- And now comes the waiting, she said, taking a seat on the couch.

- Yeah, Lorelai said, knowing exactly what she meant. - But imagine how long it would take if you had put it off for a couple of hours and _then_ took the test?

- Do you think whoever came up with the first pregnancy test, devised it to take forever, just to torture us?

- Probably, Lorelai laughed. - When I took my first one, it literally felt like I had been staring at it for an hour before the strip finally turned pink.

- You have to distract me, Rachel begged. - Or it will actually _take_ an hour. Like, how are you and Luke doing? Last time we spoke, it seemed like you were still having some issues.

- He's good, Lorelai informed her friend. - It took us a few weeks, but we managed to come to terms with what happened. He knows that I'm sorry, that I didn't want things to be the way they were, that I wish I could go back and change it so that he'd known from day one that he was William's father. Luke's just been really great. We just finished painting William's new room and Luke's talking to Tom about constructing a wall between the kitchen and Jess' old room, so that William can have his own room at the apartment, as well. Of course, I don't know why, since Luke has practically moved in with me, anyway. Maybe he's doing it so that we can stay there when he has early deliveries or something.

- Hey, how old is William, now, Rachel wondered.

- Nine months, but rapidly closing in on ten.

Lorelai fished out a recent picture of William that she kept in her wallet and at the same time she shook her own head at how she had turned into one of those mom's who kept pictures of her kids in her wallet to proudly show off to anyone who asked. This was not the first time she had showed off William's picture to anyone.

- He's growing up, Rachel remarked, studying the image.

- Don't even say it, Lorelai scoffed. - Yesterday, I was holding Rory in my arms for the first time. Then I blinked and she's gone off to Yale. I'd like this little guy to take his time.

Rachel chuckled lightly, but as she kept looking at the image, it quickly died down. Lorelai wondered if Rachel's mind had wandered back to the possibly life-changing test in the bathroom.

- You and Luke think about having more kids, Rachel asked.

- We haven't really discussed it, no, Lorelai shook her head. - I mean, we still have our hands full with just William, not to mention finding a couple of moments for ourselves.

Rachel nodded, understandably.

- But, you know, Lorelai shrugged. - I wouldn't be totally against having more kids down the line. It's just a conversation I think me and Luke have to have later on. But, I mean, we're still relatively young, I don't think there's a rush just yet.

- Yeah, Rachel agreed. - I think you're good for a couple of more years.

Lorelai looked down at the digits on the VCR and noticed that at least ten minutes had passed since Rachel had taken the test.

- Hey, she said. - I think the results are ready, you know, if you want to check right away.

Rachel bit her lip and looked between Lorelai and the bathroom door, back to Lorelai again before determinedly getting up from the couch. When she reached the bathroom door, she suddenly turned around.

- I can't do this, Rachel panicked, beginning to pace. - It's too soon. I'm not ready for this. For the past ten plus years, I've short of lived my life on the road. I've traveled, gone on adventures, lived stringlessly. And now I'm supposed to commit myself to another human being for the next eighteen plus years of my life?

Lorelai almost pointed out that technically they were talking about the rest of her life, but figured now was not the right time to say it, instead she quietly continued listening to Rachel's ranting.

- This isn't me knocking on the door to some guy I couldn't get out of my head since I met him, knowing that if it didn't work out, all I had to do was pack my bags and take off. This is permanent. Life changing.

Feeling like she had been crowned the queen of pep talks for the day, Lorelai got up from the couch, grabbing a hold of Rachel to still her. She could relate to what Rachel was feeling. While it might seem that she was most worried about how this would effect her life, Lorelai knew better than to fall for it. What Rachel was really worried about, was the question any prospective mother had on mind; 'what if I fail'?

- You'll be fine, Lorelai told her, deciding against beating around the bush. - Max is a great guy, who loves kids. He'll make a great father, whether that's in nine months or a couple of years. And I have no doubts you'll make a great mom. And it's not like you haven't thought about 'doing the mom thing'. And with Max being kinda bookish, you stand at least a fifty percent chance of getting your own Rory.

Rachel chuckled, slightly, taking a deep breath to calm herself down.

- You really think I can do it, she asked.

- Hey, Lorelai shrugged. - If I can pull off being a single mom at sixteen, I think you and Max will do great.

Rachel took one more deep breath, her breathing beginning to calm down some more. She glanced at the door, still seeming wary of going in there.

- I'm gonna sound like such a coward, here, but do you think you could look for me?

Lorelai resisted the urge to laugh and simply nodded. She walked over to the bathroom sink, where the test was lined up neatly next to the box. She picked it up, examining the results for a few seconds before thinking out exactly what to say. Usually she was on the receiving end of the news, not the other way around, unless telling yourself counted. Rachel still hadn't even come into the room. Taking the test with her, Lorelai returned to the livingroom, where Rachel was currently leaning against the kitchen counter for support. Lorelai figured there was no reason to prolong the torture and made the announcements;

- Congratulations, it's an it, she said, handing the test over to Rachel.

- Okay, Rachel sighed, taking a couple of deep breaths, while looking at the test, herself. - Guess I have some news for Max when he gets home.

She instantly broke into a small fit of giggles.

- Are you okay, Lorelai wondered.

- Yeah, yeah, Rachel said, momentarily sobering up. - I'm trying to figure out how we're gonna do this in a one bedroom apartment, but otherwise I'm good.

She took another deep breath and started laughing again. It took Rachel a couple of minutes to stop.

- Oh, God, she sighed. - I have to tell Max and I'm at a loss at how. How do you tell someone he's gonna be a daddy?

- My advice, Lorelai said. - Don't wait until the kid's six month's old. Not recommendable.

- Thanks, Rachel chuckled. - You know, I thought the worst part was going to be looking at that positive pregnancy test, because of the bad timing of it all, but actually I'm just relieved to know one way or another. For the past couple of weeks I've constantly been thinking about 'what if I am?', 'what if I'm not, but want to be?', 'what if I'm not, but Max wants it?'. All these questions, just constantly rotating in my head.

- You're talking to a woman who's both been there and done that, Lorelai reminded her. - Twice, even. I also happen to be the queen of bad timing.

Rachel chuckled.

- I guess the next step on the agenda would be to get a doctor's appointment?

- That would probably be a good idea, Lorelai agreed, then paused, slightly. - So, are you okay? Because I still have an inn in turmoil.

Truth be told the inn was in good hands, but Lorelai felt she needed not to be there when Rachel broke the news to Max. Telling your boyfriend you were pregnant in front of a friend was awkward enough, but in front of said boyfriend's ex? Lorelai was definitely going to play the work card on this.

- Yeah, of course, Rachel said. - Thanks for coming over in the first place.

- No problem, Lorelai assured her. - But, hey, one last thing. If certain nosey colleagues of mine asks about my day, should I start thinking up excuses?

- I think the truth will cover it.

- Are you sure? 'Cause it's your news to share.

- Yeah, I'm telling Max tonight anyway, and not even the Stars Hollow gossip queens can spread the news over here in one day.

- Yeah, I think they are short on kryptonite today, as well, Lorelai joked.

- Good to know, Rachel chuckled. - And, you know, thank you for coming over like that.

- No problem, Lorelai assured her. - I now know one more person I can shamelessly ask for babysitting favors.

- Yeah, Rachel nodded, placing her hand on her stomach. - I'll probably need all the practice I can get.

- By the way, congratulations, Lorelai told her.

Rachel smiled.

- Thank you.

TBC 


	125. Back to normal, or is it?

AN: Okay, I know this chapter also took its time and I'm sorry. I had to get some details just right for this one and it got a bit time demanding. But, luckily I pulled through and major props to Steph, who started betaing right away. In case writing the next chapter gets a bit delayed, I'm letting you guys know right away that in a week and a half I'm heading to London for a Veronica Mars/Prison Break convention and will be unable to write for all of that weekend. I hope I'll manage to finish up a chapter before going, but if I don't, then at least you know why.

AN2: I also want to thank everyone who participated in the Chat-a-thon. I had a blast and hope to do it again in the future. Thank you for so many questions and for not trying to press spoilers out of me (because I like to keep it a surprise).

**smileyGGfan** - Aww, hey, it's a time-demanding part of the year, but luckily you have a long summer vacation ahead of you to catch up ;)

**hlbcollegegirl** - I agree with you there. Although there are people doing Max and Rachel justice, so many make them into these jealous/bitter exes to move the plot, which makes little sense since both of them made amends regarding Luke and Lorelai's relationship.

**cywen69** - I can already tell you that I have no plans to bring back Nicole or Jason. There really is no reason to.

**Copop** - Ooh, live review, squee! I knew you'd sniff out what was going on before I directly said it, but oh man, how funny it is to read your thought process leading up to it. It's like a drug, so please don't make me go cold turkey again ;)

* * *

- Mallomars?

- Check.

- The Three Godfathers?

- Check; Kirk put them on hold for us, so all we have to do is pick them up on our way back.

- Despite the super strict Stars Hollow Video Store's 'No Reservations' policy, Lorelai asked, cocking her brows. - The one that was instantly passed after some unknown 'culprit' put '_Annie_' on hold, so Taylor couldn't rent it for a whole month? The one that Kirk enslavingly follows without exceptions?

- Yup, Rory nodded.

- How? How? _How_, Lorelai asked. - I'm the reigning Stars Hollow master of manipulation, I could medal in it, and _I_ still haven't figured out how to do that.

- Maybe you've lost your touch, Rory teased her mother.

- _Lulu_ doesn't get to reserve movies, Lorelai pointed out. - Again I ask; how?

- Well, _I made him an offer he couldn't refuse_, Rory announced in a deliberately bad Italian accent.

- You didn't sign away your soul or anything like that, right? 'Cause I think it's worth more than the Godfather trilogy. No matter how many times we make Sophia die.

- No, I just promised to put in a good word for him with Luke.

- You're not setting them up or anything, right? Cause, with him being the father of my baby, I think that would be a bit too weird.

- Hah hah, Rory stated, dryly. - It's Kirk and Lulu's one year anniversary this fall and Kirk wants to recreate their first date at the diner, and since we have pull with the proprietor, he was willing to bend the rules a bit, if I promised Luke would let him.

- I bet Luke will be happy to hear that.

- Hey, your man has to take one for the team, Rory shrugged. - So, you'll talk to Luke about it, right?

- I'll do better than that, Lorelai said, wiggling her brows, suggestively.

- My poor impressionable ears are gonna pretend they didn't hear that.

- Okay, Lorelai said, consulting her list one more time. - That only leaves the Biscotti.

- Also taken care of. Popped by Al's last week and persuaded them to move the Italy tribute up ahead of schedule.

- So, you flirted with Al?

- Actually it was his manager.

- Tall, dark, taken right out of a Ricky Martin video, but in a good way, and the sole reason Patty's become a regular customer at Al's?

- The one and only.

- Nice, Lorelai complimented. - And Jess wasn't at all jealous?

- He knew it was for a good cause.

- I am just so proud of you right now, Lorelai proclaimed. - Would you say that's wrong of me?

- Only if this was the only time you were proud of me.

- Oh, I'm always proud of my little temptress, Lorelai grinned, patting Rory on the head.

- Okay, there's pride, Rory said, pushing Lorelai's hand away. - And there's patronizing.

A sleepy yawn came from the car seat between the two of them, alerting the two women that William was stirring. Rory turned and checked the time; four minutes to seven.

- So, that was the last of it, Rory asked.

- All checked off, Lorelai confirmed and smugly added; - And you didn't think I could kill ten minutes with this.

- I believe what I said was that we might as well just go right in and be early for once, Rory shrugged.

- And wake William up before he really had to, Lorelai countered. - Besides, Emily always say that being too early for something is only second worst to being late.

- I hardly think grandpa would scold us for ringing the door bell fifteen minutes early, Rory pointed out. - Besides, I thought you guys got along now, I mean, he seemed to really like Luke the way he kept hinting for you to bring him along to Friday Night Dinners.

- Well, true, Lorelai agreed. - But it doesn't hurt to be cautious. Not go all the way to jinx anything or throw this fragile relationship of ours off balance.

- Fine, Rory sighed, not wanting to start a pointless argument with her mother over nothing. - But unless you want to throw it off balance by being late, I suggest we get out of the car within the next three minutes and ring the door bell.

Another yawn came from William as the boy opened up his bright blue eyes and looked up at his mother.

- Alright, Lorelai said, bending over the car seat to unstrap her son. - Hon, can you grab the bag for me?

Rory nodded and reached behind the seat for the bag.

- So, barring any unforeseen incidents, tomorrow is good to go, she asked her mother.

- All supplies are accounted for, Lorelai confirmed. - And with Luke doing the books and promising to look in on William, we should have minimum disruptions of our evening.

- You know, mom, Rory pointed out. - You don't have to down to the specific details to recreate Biscotti Night. Especially since we technically aren't recreating an actual event, as much as a vision of one. Luke can come, you know.

- No way, Lorelai objected. - Between you writing the date down wrong and my emotional breakdown, we didn't get to do the whole proper send-off to Yale thing. This is more than a recreation; we're marking your transition into the big scary Ivy League world and by the way for this to work, you unfortunately have to erase any Yale-related memory from your mind.

- Luke said no, huh, Rory deducted.

Lorelai sighed, as she picked her son up from the car seat.

- He _really_ has to do the books, I barely managed to talk him out of sleeping above the diner, again, and the only way I did that was by reminding him how sleep deprived he got last time he spent the night there.

Rory frowned.

- Why did he.., she began, but upon seeing her mother's knowing expression, she instantly changed her mind. - Forget it, I don't think I wanna know.

- So, you're excited about going back to Yale, Lorelai asked, closing the car door behind her.

- A bit, Rory admitted. - I logged in last night to read the course descriptions that I want to check out.

- Did you narrow it down to less than fifty choices this time, Lorelai asked, amused, at the same time trying to keep William's curious little hands off her necklace.

- I managed to narrow it down to thirty, but I think I pretty much have my five choices picked.

- You're gonna try five classes, again? Really, Lorelai asked. - Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you have to drop one of them when you tried this last year?

- Only because I didn't prioritize right, Rory objected. - I'll focus more this time around.

- But _five_ classes, Lorelai asked. - That's a _lot_ to take on.

- You don't think I can do it, Rory asked, defensively.

Having to cave and drop 'Game Theory' last semester was still a sore point with her. No matter how supportive Lorelai had been, no matter how many times she'd assured her that there was nothing wrong with dropping a class to keep her grades up, Rory felt like a failure because of it. She wanted more than anything to prove both to herself and to the rest of the world that she was not just the ordinary student, but that she could keep five classes and still excel.

- You know I do, Lorelai objected, shifting William around in her arms. - But I just really hope you're not just doing this to prove something to your grandfather.

Rory felt the statement hit her like a hammer on a nail. Of course the fact that Richard Gilmore had managed to graduate at the top of his class with extra credits to boot was one of the bigger reasons she felt that she had to do this. She was Rory Gilmore, after all, valedictorian at Chilton. Academics was her thing. No matter what they might say, people had expectations from her and she didn't want to disappoint them by turning out to be nothing more than average. She _had_ to excel. And if that meant putting herself through the stress of a larger workload, then so be it.

- It's tradition, she shrugged, halfway admitting to Lorelai's accusations.

- Hon, Lorelai sighed. - You shouldn't be comparing your frantic studying now to his frantic studying then. It's a different time now, the competition is bigger, the classes are more demanding.

- I need to do this, mom.

- Okay, I just don't want to see you killing yourself over something that's not worth it, Lorelai said, worriedly. - Just promise me that you'll stop if it gets too much.

Rory nodded and rang the door bell, hoping this would distract her mom enough for them to move away from the topic. Truth be told she knew that the additional course could turn out to be too much for her, but at the same time, the urge to prove her suspicion wrong was too strong to resist. It wasn't her mother's reaction that worried her. She knew Lorelai would be proud of her, no matter how short her abilities could take her. It was the elderly Gilmore's she was most eager to impress. With how her mother had never been in their good grace, the fact that they then had so much faith in her made her even more worried about disappointing them.

When she first told him she had signed up for five classes, Richard had worn this look of pride that outshone any other look he'd given her before. He still didn't know she hadn't completed all of them. He was still under the impression that she was an outstanding student, probably even expected her to become valedictorian at Yale as well. She had absolute confidence that should she not graduate at the top of her class, her grandparents would not be mad, but she knew that even if they didn't express it, that they would be disappointed and in Rory's book that would be even worse than if they were to get angry.

Rory glanced at the door bell, feeling like it was taking the maid forever. She was contemplating on ringing the bell once more when the door opened and they were greeted, surprisingly enough, by Emily Gilmore. Rory's mouth dropped and she quickly glanced over at her mother, who looked equally shocked.

- Surprise, Emily said, chipperly.

- Mom?

- Grandma, Rory exclaimed, dropping William's diaper bag, enveloping her grandmother in a hug.

- H-how, uh, w-when did you come back, mom, Lorelai stuttered.

- Oh, I arrived home late last night, Emily replied. - I considered calling you girls, but I thought it would be more... _fun_ to surprise you, when you came over for dinner, anyway.

- We're definitely surprised, Rory admitted, not really knowing what to say to her grandma, considering how she had now both vanished and reappeared without any notice, which was just so unlike her. - Um, so, how was Europe?

- Oh, Europe was wonderful, Emily gushed. - Just what the doctor ordered. I am a bit sad to leave Paris behind like this, but I missed you girls too much to stay away any longer.

Emily gave Rory another hug before turning to William, who was wide eyed and studying this person in front of him with a wary expression.

- And William, Emily added. - My, my, how much he's grown.

Emily reached her hands out to take him, but the minute Lorelai moved him any closer to the older woman, William began turn and twist in his mother's arm to get closer to her, away from Emily, who he seemed to have no recollection of.

- Ngah, he cried out, grabbing onto the straps of Lorelai's dress, refusing to let go.

Rory could see the hurt in Emily's eyes as her very own grandson had just rejected her as if she was just another stranger, but mere seconds later Emily's expression had hardened, as though she had just wrapped her emotions inside this protective shell. Lorelai seemed to have noticed this as well, but was distracted by her upset baby boy.

- He just woke up, she apologized, once William calmed down a little in her arms. - When he's like that he doesn't even want Rory to hold him.

Of course, that last thing was a lie, as William had no problems with having his sister pick him up from his crib. Not even after Rory had been gone for weeks. Though, Rory suspected William was overall more used to having her around than his grandparents. But she understood why Lorelai had lied, as telling Emily the truth, that William just didn't like being held by a stranger, would be worse.

- Yes, of course, Emily nodded, clearly knowing what neither Lorelai or Rory was telling her. - Let me take your coats and you can just head on to the living room.

As Emily said it, Lorelai frowned, probably wondering why Emily, of all people was taking their jackets.

- Um, shouldn't the maid be doing that, mom?

- Oh please, that incompetent thing? I had to fire her. Should have known your father wouldn't know to hire someone who would actually know proper etiquette, not to mention actually clean the place.

Rory quietly glanced at Lorelai. Knowing her mother had been the one to hire this particular maid, she wondered if Emily's comment had hurt her, or if Lorelai really managed to shake it off like it was nothing. It didn't seem to affect her, but then again, Lorelai had one hell of a poker face when she needed it. Rory glanced askingly at her mother and Lorelai shrugged in return, both of them turning to do what Emily had told them to do. Noticing someone else other than Richard sitting in the livingroom, however, put them to a halt and they once again looked at each other.

- Who's that, Rory asked, curiously.

- No idea, Lorelai whispered.

The person was a brunette woman and looked to be in her late twenties, tops. She wore a classic short black dress with a red bolero on top of it. Her posture suggested she probably belonged to the Hartford socialites, but other than that she was very much a mystery.

- Maybe Emily got experimental in Europe, Lorelai suggested.

- Gross, mom.

- What, Lorelai gestured towards Emily with her back against them and the woman sitting in the living room. - The love between two women is a beautiful thing. Who are we to oppose it?

- You are just full of gay hilarities today, aren't you?

- Hey, mom, Lorelai said, slightly louder. - Who's that in the livingroom?

- Surely you remember Catherine, Lorelai, Emily said. - Liza and Darrin Hamilton's daughter?

- Can't say I do, Lorelai shook her head.

- Honestly, the little you remember, Emily scolded. - Catherine went to school with you.

- Did it happen to be elementary, Lorelai asked. - And did it happen to be while I was in fifth grade and she was in kindergarten?

- You also went with us to several of the Hamilton's social gatherings, Emily pointed out. - At some point, you two must have met before.

- Met? Maybe, Lorelai agreed. - But that doesn't mean I'll automatically remember someone I barely interacted with and that I haven't seen in over twenty years.

- Where's grandpa, Rory wondered out loud.

- Your grandfather's in the pool house, Emily told her.

- So, he'll come along later, Lorelai asked, confused.

- He will not be joining us, Emily replied.

- Why not, Lorelai asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

- Your father and I decided that since I haven't seen either of you for many weeks and since he and I are now officially separated, that it would be best if it was just me at dinner, tonight.

- So, you invite some stranger to come, instead, Lorelai asked, trying to make sense of Emily's decision.

- Catherine's parents are dear friend of mine, Lorelai, Emily said, sharply. - I ran into her in Paris a couple of weeks ago as well as shared a plane with her on my way back. Since Darrin and Liza won't be returning from the Hamptons until tomorrow, I thought it would be only right to invite her over for dinner.

Neither Lorelai or Rory said anything more about the surprise dinner guest as the three of them headed into the livingroom.

- Catherine, Emily announced. - I want you to meet my granddaughter, Rory, and I believe you've already met my daughter, Lorelai.

- Briefly, Catherine politely replied, as she stood up.

- Lorelai, Rory, this is Catherine, my good friends Darren and Liza's daughter.

- Cate, the woman corrected, as she shook Rory's hand. - Only my parents call me Catherine.

- Winslet or Blanchet, Lorelai asked, as Cate shook hers.

Cate first looked confusedly at Lorelai for a couple of seconds before catching on.

- Blanchet, she answered.

- Ah, the rare one, Lorelai nodded.

- Catherine, I mean Cate, Emily corrected herself, as Cate gave her a reminding look. - Is a teacher at Yale University.

- TA, actually, Cate specified. - I'm still working on my teaching degree. But I do share one class with professor Jennings, who's asked for more time off with her maternity leave, so in a way you could call me a co-teacher.

- I ran into Cate at this charming bistro in Paris, a few weeks ago, Emily informed them. - And when I mentioned your journalistic aspirations, Rory, she thought you could benefit from taking her class.

- What do you teach, Rory asked, curiously.

- _Women and the written word_, Cate replied. - We do focus a lot on women as authors, but we also take on women as journalists, women in politics, as well as looking into more modern mediums such as radio, television and the internet. I think you'd like it.

Rory squirmed a bit in her chair, feeling very put on the spot. Of course Emily meant well with bringing this obviously nice woman in to talk to her, but Rory felt as though she was being backed up against a wall. She didn't want to offend Emily or Cate by saying no, but she didn't want to make false promises to take a class, when really she already had her five choices pretty much nailed down.

- Um, she muttered. - Actually, I kinda already have my choices picked for this year.

- Still, Emily said. - It wouldn't hurt to check it out.

Rory saw that Lorelai was about to object to this, but Cate beat her to it.

- Emily, it's not necessary, she insisted. - I didn't come here to force Rory to do something she doesn't want to do. It's up to her which classes she takes this semester.

Rory couldn't help but notice the slight smirk on her mother's face as Emily instantly stopped pressing the matter with no objections whatsoever. Both of them knew that Emily wouldn't have done that had Lorelai been the one to speak up. Despite this odd intrusion of what basically was their family night, Rory was beginning to warm up to this woman.

- Mm-boo, William said, safely sitting in his mother's lap, obviously feeling left out.

Lorelai chuckled and reached into the bag to find him a toy to occupy him.

- He's adorable, Cate complimented. - How old is he?

- Nine and a half months, Lorelai replied, her proud mommy smile even reaching her eyes.

Cate, obviously having not seen the display in the hallway, reached her hand out to stroke his cheek. This made William turn and bury his head against his mother's chest.

- Sorry, Lorelai apologized. - He's not really big on strangers.

- It's okay, Cate shrugged. - Think that's pretty normal for his age.

- You have kids, yourself, Lorelai wondered.

- No, Cate shook her head. - But I've worked with a lot of mother's, so I've picked up some things.

- Cate does a lot of charity work, Emily supplied.

- I wouldn't say a lot, Cate objected. - My partner's the one who deserves most the credit, I just pitch in during the summer.

- Was that what you were doing in France, Rory wondered.

- No, Cate shook her head. - France was more or less our vacation.

- Cate and her boyfriend were celebrating their _five year_ anniversary, Emily said, giving Lorelai the classic 'why can't _you_ manage to do that' look as she emphasized the anniversary. - James, was it?

- Jamie, Cate corrected.

- I prefer to call him James, Emily decided. - 'Jamie' is what you would call a child.

As if on cue, William started fussing in his mommy's lap. Lorelai shifted him around and bounced him up and down a little bit to calm him down.

- Is everything alright, Emily wondered.

- He's just hungry, Lorelai assured her. - He hasn't eaten since a couple of hours before his nap, so I can't blame him for being cranky.

Luckily for William, no more than three minutes later the cook came by to announce that dinner was ready and the small group moved on to the dining room. With their curiosity regarding Cate's presence sated, dinner became a more relaxed event. Lorelai answered Cate's questions about the inn, told Emily all about the construction of William's room and about William's latest developments, miraculously leaving out any mentioning of Luke. Emily answered Rory's questions about her trip to Europe and then Rory and Cate talked a bit about Yale and Rory's plans for the upcoming year.

Only an hour after dinner had started, Lorelai and Rory once again stood outside the Gilmore mansion. Cate had excused herself right after the main course due to jet lag kicking in and told Rory she would be on the lookout for her at Yale. And without even realizing it, Rory managed to halfway promise to consider checking the class out. The remaining three generations of Gilmore's moved on to dessert, however already towards the end of it, Rory noticed that also Emily seemed to be a bit worn out and suggested ending the evening, receiving no objections from Emily, who fought to stifle a yawn.

After retrieving their own coats, Rory had given her grandmother a hug and Lorelai and Emily had shared their usual nod at one another. However, the thing about their departure that didn't seem to want to leave Rory's mind was how distant Emily had been with William, like she'd been afraid of going near him, in case he'd throw a fit like he had upon arrival. Rory accepted William from Lorelai, who had to do a quick inventory to make sure they hadn't left anything vital behind, like say a blue stuffed bunny. Though normally drowsy at this time of night, William's unscheduled pre-dinner nap had put his rhythm off and the baby was still wide awake, blowing raspberries while inspecting the straps of his sister's dress.

- Okay, Lorelai announced, looking over the bag one more time. - Nothing seems to be missing.

- So, video rental next, Rory asked.

- Well, Lorelai hesitated. - Maybe we should, you know, go by the pool house first? See how dad's holding up?

With Lorelai normally rushing out of there faster than Flo-Jo on a sugar kick, this was certainly a first. Part of Rory wanted to joke with her mom, ask her if she was feeling alright, but resisted the urge, as she, too, felt the urge to check up on her grandpa. She couldn't exactly say she had expected everything to go back to normal right away once Emily returned, but the separation, Richard moving out, the obvious upcoming split of Friday Night Dinners, Rory couldn't say she had expected that, either.

Rory gave her mother a nod and followed her around the house to the backyard entrance. The light of the pool house was still on, suggesting that Richard was still up and about. Once they reached the main door, they both spotted him sitting in his recliner, reading a book that Rory recognized to be one of the six volumes of 'The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire', but she couldn't pin point exactly which volume. However, the fact that he was reading it was a little worrisome to her. Lorelai lightly tapped the glass door, catching his attention. Upon looking up, Richard's brows raised in surprise as he went to open the door.

- Rory, he said, confused. - Lorelai? Goodness, what are you two doing here? I thought you were still at dinner.

- Well, we just left, Lorelai told him. - But we wanted to come by and see how you were doing, as well, kinda a pit stop on our way home.

Obviously tired of pulling on Rory's dress straps and Richard's mustache catching his attention, William reached his arms out towards his grandfather who gladly accepted him. The boy grabbed a hold of the mustache and yanked on it, as though he was trying to get it to come off. Richard yelped in surprise, and a little bit of pain before subtly convincing his grandson to let go.

- Well, do come in, if you want, Richard told them. - I was just doing a bit of reading, but I wouldn't mind some company.

- How are you doing, grandpa, Rory asked.

- I am fine, Richard nodded. - My new, um, 'digs' needs some getting used to, but I have complete confidence that I'll get everything under control, eventually.

Rory looked around the pool house and noticed the clutter of a couple of half-full boxes. Obviously Richard hadn't yet come around to get the place organized, having moved in either that day or the day before. Richard caught her looking.

- I'm afraid Emily fired the maid, he told her, also sending Lorelai an apologetic nod. - But I am thinking of hiring myself a butler or a valet. So, hopefully this place will be spick and span in a weeks time.

- Good plan, Rory told him.

- Can I get you anything? Club soda? Water?

- I'm fine, Lorelai assured him, taking a seat on the couch.

- Rory, he asked.

- I'm fine, too, Rory nodded.

- Alright, Richard said, taking a seat in his recliner again.

An awkward silence came over them, only broken every few seconds by William's cooing and babbling. The boy had finished inspecting Richard's mustache for the day and had moved on to his nose and ears.

- So, Richard finally said. - How was dinner?

- Slightly awkward, Lorelai said. - But mostly good.

- That's good, Richard nodded. - And your mother? How is she doing?

- You two haven't talked, Lorelai asked, probably thinking about her parents' so-called mutual decision to separate. - At all?

- Not so much, Richard admitted. - I mean, we both came to an agreement regarding our living situation and an upcoming arrangement regarding the Friday Night Dinners, but mostly I am giving her the space she wants.

- So, you're 'separated' separated, Lorelai concluded.

- Yes, Richard nodded.

- Like 'getting divorced' separated?

Rory wanted to slap her mother for asking it, but resisted the urge. Richard's head hung and the older man merely shrugged.

- I don't know, he said.

Feeling compelled to hug her grandpa, Rory got up from her seat and wrapped her arms around him. Following her cue, William wrapped his little arms around Richard's neck and planted a big sloppy kiss on his cheek. Both Lorelai and Rory started laughing, with Richard tuning in as well a few seconds later. Suddenly Lorelai glanced out the window and her laughter instantly died down. Wondering what had caused this sudden change of mood, Rory followed her eyes, where she spotted her grandmother standing outside looking in. The look of hurt and betrayal was evident, but Emily wasn't even looking at her, nor at Lorelai. Rather, her eyes were fixated on William, sitting contently in the arms of his grandfather.

TBC 


	126. Mattress revisited

AN: I just wanted to say right away that I know it's been forever, three whole weeks (well, a few days longer than that) and no update. But I just wanted to point out that in two of those three weeks I had absolutely no time to write, even though I wanted to. But still I worked really hard to not take too much extra time, despite it. So I hope you will forgive me for taking so long and I promise to try and do better, try and get back something similar to my old pace again. As always, many thanks to Steph, my trusty beta :)

**LadyMo** - Let me guess, you read it at FanLib? Thank you for your comment, I hope you'll continue enjoying it.

**cywen69** - Emily isn't mad at William, but she feels hurt, even though she knows deep down that she, herself, is to blame for William not knowing her, she's hurt by the consequences. And then there's the whole Richard situation and how while he was the one to hurt her, he in a way was rewarded with time to get closer to Lorelai, Rory and William. Basically it's just a big mess.

**Copop** - I lurve Live Reviews, never stop doing that, I tell you :) They put a smile on my face. But I do see that I should update faster, since between each chapter you have forgotten the info given in the last few chapters. It seems to be affecting your feelings for the characters' situations as well. Not good, not good at all, lol.

**Loridhhp** - You said that just spot on. It's a very unfortunate and difficult situation for them, which of course is where it gets interesting.

* * *

Lorelai dropped the box on the empty table with a thump and groaned.

- God, how is it you've managed to accumulate this much junk already?

Rory merely gave her mother an amused look.

- Says the queen of junk over there.

- No, I'm serious, Lorelai insisted. - I can't for the life of me remember you having this many boxes when we moved you out of the dorm. Besides, considering how you and Paris shared the shelves, floor space and closet space of an already tiny room, I'm at a loss where you fit it all, which, by the way, I'm still not convinced you did.

- What, so my things just magically multiplied or something, Rory joked.

- _Yes_, Lorelai insisted. - That's exactly what they've done. Something iffy's been going on in that room of yours to cause this scenario here, because there were not as many boxes at the end of last term.

- And it has absolutely nothing to do with how we are moving both me and Jess into this place?

- You think I can't spot which boxes are yours and which are his?

Lorelai pointed between the box Luke had dropped off before heading back outside to fetch another; a semi open box marked 'stuff', and the one sitting on the table in front of her and Rory, the tape perfectly aligned with the edges and the content clearly marked, not to mention color coded. Rory raised her hands in moderate defeat, but wasn't quite done yet.

- I also think you're forgetting how I subtly moved heaps of things everytime I visited the Hollow those last few weeks of term, she pointed out.

- Fine, I give, Lorelai surrendered, taking in the amount of boxes the four of them had carried in so far and how much was still waiting for them outside in the truck. - Just promise me that next time you'll hire movers, instead.

- Why not just throw your money out the window when we get home, Luke remarked as he dropped off yet another one of Jess' boxes. - It'd be quicker.

- Am I sensing some anti-movers attitude, here?

- Hey, if people want to use'em, fine by me, Luke defended. - I just don't think they give you your money's worth.

- Oh, I don't know, watching some well built, shirtless men carry a ton of boxes, while not having to lift a finger, myself? Whooh, Lorelai sighed, pretending to fan herself. - Worth every penny, if you ask me.

Luke gave Lorelai a look that made her giggle.

- Aww, you know I love watching you, too, Snuffy, she said, playfully.

- It's a waste of money, Luke argued, ignoring Lorelai's new nickname for him. - I mean the van and labor costs alone is ludicrous, then there's the insurance and all those other hidden costs they don't tell you about until they've gotten their claws in you. And you still have to pack everything up and have it ready by the time they arrive, or else it's money out of your pocket. Or you can let them handle it, but it'll cost ya. Plus, then you're gonna have complete strangers going through your personal things. And how do you even know you can trust these guys? Because their number is 555-MOVERS or they have some flashy ad in the yellow pages? What's to stop them from helping themselves to a five finger discount..?

- Rant, Luke, rant, Lorelai teased him, breaking his serious expression.

- I just don't see the point in paying someone to do something you can perfectly well manage on your own, he shrugged.

- Says the man who wanted to pay Tom and his crew to paint his own son's nursery, Lorelai remarked, dryly.

- Because painting's a pain.

- No, _moving_'s a pain, Lorelai insisted.

- You're not even doing any of the heavy lifting, Luke remarked.

- Hey, I'm lifting, I'm carrying, Lorelai objected.

- Yeah, sheets and pillows, and some clothes, Luke listed. - Very heavy, indeed.

- Pack'em tight enough and you'd be surprised how heavy they can get, Lorelai quipped.

- Not to mention you take breaks between every single load, while Jess and I are busy carrying all the bigger things; the kitchen supplies, Rory's home entertainment center, not to mention her entire private library.

Lorelai leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her man's lips, effectively shutting him up.

- Amah, a little voice shouted from across the room. - Amah! Amah! _Amah!_

In the thirty minutes since his parents had put him down in the play pin, William had tired of all the toys they had left with him and pulled himself up by the bars to a somewhat standing position and was currently shouting for his mama's attention. The excitement over getting it made the boy lose his grip on the bars and landed with a thump on his butt. For a moment the boy just stared up at them, as if he was asking them what had just happened, then once the initial shock wore off, his bottom lip started trembling.

One could never be certain what William's reaction would be. Normally it took him more than simply falling on his butt to get him going, but he had been a bit moody for the past couple of days and Lorelai was pretty sure he'd had a temperature, when she'd gone to fetch him that morning, which would explain it. When William was sick, he was more fragile than porcelain.

Lorelai picked her son up and gently rocked him as he cried, shushing him while at the same time mouthing to Luke to go find Bunny, who immediately obliged and headed out to the truck. She stroked the soft hair on top of his head while feeling for a temperature. He was definitely warmer than usual, but then again, crying had a tendency to make someone's temperature go up, so the jury was still out on whether or not William actually had a fever. Lorelai looked around the semi-empty room to find a suitable place to sit down and eventually chose one of the boxes marked 'books' to use as her temporary chair, until they got to moving in all the furniture.

Luke returned a few minutes later, handing the bunny over to Lorelai who again gave it to William. The boy, still sniffling, did as he always did, grabbed a hold of one of the bunny's legs, the one where all the stuffing had split in two, enabling him to encircle it fully without any problem. He then stuck the thumb in his mouth. Luke let his hand stroke his son's forehead.

- He okay, Luke asked.

- Yeah, Lorelai assured him. - He's probably just coming down with a cold or something.

- Should we, I don't know, resume this another day?

- No, no, Lorelai shook her head. - We've got the truck full and it's only a few hours, maybe. You guys go ahead. I'll just sit this one out.

Luke snorted at her tone of voice.

- Because this is such a sacrifice for you, he remarked, dryly.

- Hey, when I wake up tomorrow with puffy eyes and a sore throat, I'm gonna remember you said that.

Luke chuckled and leaned down to kiss her.

- Hey, hey, hey, she said, holding up her free hand to stop him. - Have you thought this scenario through? I might already be contagious, here.

- Lorelai, Luke sighed. - We sleep in the same bed, use the same bathroom, eat at the same table, occasionally, at your insistence, from the same plate and we spend the equal amount of time with our son. Safe to say whatever you get, I get and vice versa. If I haven't caught it already, there's a ninety-five percent chance I will.

- Wow, who'd have thunk germs could be so romantic, Lorelai grinned, making Luke roll his eyes at her as he kissed her.

He was about to move away when Lorelai pulled him down for another brief kiss, then surprising him, she ended it with pushing him away.

- Mh, she muttered. - Now you go be strong mover guy for me.

Luke rolled his eyes, but obliged to her wishes. William had stopped sobbing entirely and had snuggled up against his mama's chest and closed his eyes. Lorelai continuously stroked his little feverish head in a steady motion while watching the remaining three carrying in one box after another, filling the room up more and more. Eventually just Rory returned carrying nothing. Lorelai raised her brows and asked;

- Done already?

- Luke and Jess are bringing in the bed, Rory explained.

- And they didn't need you for it? To what I recall, that's one really big bed.

- They said something along how too many chefs makes a bigger mess, the young girl shrugged and took a seat next to her mother.

- So, our two men are gonna tackle that thing all on their own, Lorelai frowned. - Granted they are strong, but I sense disaster coming upon us.

- Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

A few minutes later, the tip of one of the boxes containing what would become the frame of Jess and Rory's new bed peaked into the room. Neither of the men were to be seen at first, but after the box had been tilted and pushed further in a couple of times, Jess appeared in the doorway. It seemed to go nicely until the corner of the box hit the corner right below the ceiling. Obviously Luke, who was still out of sight, hadn't paid attention to where Jess was steering the box, as he attempted to push it forward without it moving an inch. The box stopped moving and a loud '_aw geez_' was heard, making both girls erupt into giggles.

- Trouble, hon, Lorelai called out.

- _Nothing we can't handle_, Luke assured her.

- You sure? I mean, if you need a pair of extra hands, I have an idle Rory sitting with me, here.

- _I'm sure; we need all the space we can get to turn this thing around._

Jess left the room for a little while and he and Luke had a quick conversation that Lorelai didn't catch a word of, then a couple of minutes later, the box began moving again. It was backed slightly out of the room and then slowly but steady turned downwards as, Lorelai assumed, Luke was pushing the other end upwards. Suddenly a thump was heard, the moving momentarily stopped and Jess' voice could be heard;

- _I don't think this is gonna work._

- _It will_, Luke replied. - _Let's just go ahead like we planned._

- _Staircase's too narrow_, Jess argued.

- _It's not too narrow. Just push that end of yours forward as far as you can. I just need another inch or two._

- _We should've just taken the whole thing out and turned it here, first_, Jess insisted.

- _There was no need._

- _It's gonna get stuck_, Jess warned his uncle.

- _It's not_, Luke insisted.

Lorelai turned to Rory, who looked just as entertained as she was.

- I'm suddenly beginning to like moving.

Rory just chuckled and shook her head. For a while it looked like Jess was going to be right in his predictions, as they didn't seem able to move it much in any direction, not even back to where it was before. Lorelai imagined Jess to be giving Luke an 'I told you so' look. She was about to get up to check the situation out, herself, when the box magically began to move again right in front of her. Two minutes later it was leaning up along one of the bedroom walls and Luke and Jess left to get the mattress. Lorelai once more turned to Rory and said what probably everyone was thinking;

- If the frame is this difficult, I can't wait to find out what trouble the mattress is gonna give them.

True enough, Lorelai could hear the men bickering already from two floors below as they strived to bring the mattress up the stairs, which seemed to be going very slowly. Lorelai couldn't make out what exactly Luke and Jess were saying to one another, only that they seemed to have completely different ideas on how best to bring the mattress to the next floor.

- I guess we should be thankful those two won't be responsible for bringing a couch up the stairs, Lorelai pointed out. - Or we would easily have ended up with another Friends situation on our hands.

Rory snorted, undoubtedly from the vision of Ross yelling '_pivot_' crossing her mind. Luke and Jess were now closer, from the sound of it making their way up the last staircase, still bickering. Lorelai couldn't make out what exactly the two of them were doing with that mattress, as most of the words exchanged were about ordering each other to push, pull, lift or tilt, with the other replying that that was exactly what they were doing. It seemed like a small eternity with the two of them moving it around, with neither them nor the mattress as much as appearing in the doorway. Eventually when a large thump was heard, her curiosity got the better of her and Lorelai got up to investigate, resting the snoozing William against her shoulder.

Her brows rose as she took in the sight in front of her. Not only was the mattress blocking the door in such a way that it was nearly impossible to get out, but it was also efficiently stopping any traffic going past the third floor. If the staircase had been bigger, bringing the mattress through the door should be no problem, but the way it was, the object was taking up the entire space the room had to offer, in height as well as length and width. Wherever Luke or Jess tried moving it, there was either a wall, the banister or the ceiling to stop them. It didn't help matters that the mattress wasn't very bendy.

- See, Lorelai said, pointing to the scenario in front of them. - This is why you should never have chosen the really thick mattress.

- I think you're forgetting that you're the one that insisted I get this particular bed and mattress in the first place.

- Yes, but I don't think practically when it comes to these matters. That's your thing and you should've _known_ something like this would happen.

- Oh, brother, Rory groaned.

- Well, Lorelai shrugged, tilting her head as Luke and Jess made another futile attempt at moving the non-cooperative mattress. - Good luck sleeping in the stairwell.

- We _could_ try and help them, you know, Rory pointed out.

- Well, you maybe, but I'm kinda stuck with the baby.

- Good cover, Rory said, dryly.

- How is it a cover, when you heard, yourself, how moody he was earlier.

Rory skillfully ignored her mother and attempted at lending Jess a hand at pushing the mattress further up. One of the corners were currently peaking through the door opening, but there were currently no room to fully push it into the room, as the banister was in the way. Lorelai stood and watched the three of them pushing and tugging at the thing without moving it much in either way.

- Have you tried, you know, tilting it completely vertical and just forcing it around the corner, she suggested. - I mean, it can't be completely impossible to bend it, right?

- Okay, you know, we don't need any backseat moving here, Luke said. - You go sit down and let us deal with it.

Lorelai pouted, but for once did as told and returned to her 'chair'. William slowly opened his eyes and looked up at her for a moment, then closed them again. Having been banished to her corner with only a snoozing baby in her arms and no tv to keep her occupied, Lorelai entertained herself by betting on how much longer it would take the other three to get that mattress through the door. About half an hour later, after much struggle, they managed to wiggle the mattress through the door and into the bedroom. Luke sighed with relief.

- Please promise me the next time you decide to move is _after_ Rory's graduation, he begged.

Rory chuckled.

- I think I can promise that, she nodded.

- Hey, Lorelai called out, noticing her belly rumbling. - Who else is hungry? I'm ordering pizza?

Luke and Jess insisted on bringing up the remaining furniture while they waited for the pizza, so, as Luke put it; they could have proper chairs to sit on and an actual table to eat at. Lorelai tried handing William over to Rory so she could make him his dinner, but the little boy refused to be separated from her, so instead Rory took on the task of preparing her little brother's dinner.

By the time the pizza arrived, the table, chairs, and all the other furniture that was left in the truck, had been carried in. The place was, of course, still a mess and Lorelai and Luke promised them they would stay for as long as William felt up for it.

The boy didn't seem to have much of an appetite, despite having not eaten in several hours. Still, Lorelai tried coaxing him into taking a few bites, anyway, just so he'd fill his little stomach with something. Then when she gave up, Luke made a few attempts, but William had no interest in eating anything more; he, too, had to give in. Instead he took over William duty, freeing Lorelai up to help Rory unpack, and allowing Luke to rest up a bit.

Then somewhere along the fifth box being opened, William began to cry. Lorelai turned around to see that the boy had proceeded to throw up his entire dinner and then some all over the floor. Luke tried bouncing him lightly up and down, shushing him gently. Lorelai went into action and grabbed a clean cloth that she wet and helped Luke clean William up. She let her hand cross his forehead and it seemed that it now was more of a definite fever. Her son's eyes were red and teary. All in all, he didn't look well at all.

- I think we should be heading home, Luke suggested and Lorelai and Rory both nodded in agreement.

Lorelai grabbed another cloth to clean up the mess on the floor and then accepted William from Luke, who made a quick trip to the bathroom to get rid of whatever that had hit him in the process. William was still sobbing heavily, but his cries had diminished and whatever sound came from him was muffled from him burying his head in his mother's chest. Luke returned from the bathroom pretty quickly, vomit-free, but was now sporting a few wet patches on his shirt. As he passed the bedroom door, he turned to Jess and Rory.

- Oh, yeah, he said. - I'll come back tomorrow to help you with that bed.

Rory went up to Luke and hugged him. Slightly surprised, as this wasn't something he and Rory usually did, it took Luke about ten seconds before he managed reciprocate the hug.

- Thank you, she told him with great sincerity.

- Anytime, kid, he chuckled. - You work hard with your studies now, you hear? Don't let this punk nephew of mine distract you.

This time it was Rory's turn to smile.

- I think I'll manage, she promised him. - And you take good care of mom and my brother, you hear?

- Oh, enough of this, Lorelai interrupted, already struggling to keep her tears in check. - It's not like we're saying goodbye forever, here.

Rory let go of Luke to hug her mom, who barely had time to pass William over to his father.

- No, we're not, she assured her. - I'll be home this weekend, okay? And the weekend after that and after that. You'll see me tons.

- Okay, Lorelai nodded.

- But I might have to stay behind when I have finals, Rory warned her.

- Just as long as you make up for it after finals, Lorelai conditioned.

- Deal.

Mother and daughter relinquished the hug and merely looked at each other, sighing. Luke looked between the two of them, then asked;

- So, are we going, or do you need some more time?

- You know, you just go ahead and I'll be down in just a minute, Lorelai promised him. - I just have a few last things I need to say.

- Okay, Luke nodded and closed the door behind him.

Lorelai once more looked at Rory, her now, much more well-adjusted, independent daughter, compared to the last time they had done this, who was yet again about to embark on another exciting year at Yale. It wasn't as hard to say goodbye this time as it had been a year ago. Lorelai already knew that she would survive the following year, knowing that Rory was doing well at school, making friends and generally enjoying reaching one of the goals she had set for herself early on; to make it to the Ivy Leagues. And since then Lorelai, too, had made a whole new life for herself, one that included a very new baby and finding someone that could very well turn out to be 'the one', but she knew that despite that, she would really miss her daughter.

- Okay, she sighed. - You take good care of yourself, now, you hear? I don't want you wandering around the area alone at night. If you are held up anywhere, get Jess to come and meet you or take a cab. Even if you can't afford it, just have them send me the bill. I don't care if that means waking me up in the middle of the night. You hear me?

- Loud and clear, Rory nodded. - Under no circumstances am I to go out at night without anyone going with me.

- And this whole 'living with the boyfriend' thing, just promise me you'll be careful. You have your whole life for that, but right now Yale has to be your number one priority.

- Don't worry; I won't do anything to jeopardize my education.

- Good to know.

Lorelai hugged her daughter one more time, before she acknowledged that she had a boyfriend and more importantly; a sick son, waiting for her downstairs. She bid her daughter goodbye and finally closed the apartment door behind her.

TBC 


	127. Since when do you knock?

AN: Yes, I am well aware it took me longer than I planned to, yet again. How was I to know I was suddenly gonna get super popular with my friends and family while coming home for vacation? I mean, usually I get heaps of time to write, but since I'm only home for two weeks this summer instead of the usual seven or eight, I guess people caught on and decided to "book" me immediately. I've literally had days where all I had time to do was write snippets of the chapter. Then when I finally got a day on my own, of COURSE I had to get sick and lack the energy to write. I'm still not completely well, but I was determined not to let my illness stop me from finishing this chapter, so that's how much I love you guys. Thank you, Debbie for a couple of those references and as always, thank you, Steph, for the beta.

**Loridhhp** - Jikes, I have yet had to chainsaw a couch in my moving endeavors. That must've sucked. But funny to hear that you could relate to the moving hazzle. I'm glad you've reunited with your 'Rory'.

**Copop** - I did point out in an earlier chapter that they were apartment hunting. And Snuffy was completely inspired by "Lost and Found". Bunny is inspired by two real life stuffed animals. Each of my nieces have one that pretty much helps soothe them instantly, no matter the booboo. And don't worry, it was only a minor bug that happens to infants from time to time ;) Thank you so much for the live-reiview. I live for'em.

**JavaJunkie4Evar** - Aww, 48 hours, I think we have a new record in reading all of CF in the least amount of time. Oh man, that is such a great compliment. Hope to keep ya for the future chapters as well :)

* * *

Lorelai frowned as she pulled into her driveway, noticing how the unlit house loomed over Luke's old green truck. Ever since she'd cleared out her sock drawer and had that extra key made for him, she hated coming home to an empty house. Usually, to avoid this scenario altogether she would head to the diner after work, instead of home, and sit at the counter, chatting away about anything and everything while watching Luke wipe the tables, clean the grill, count the receipts and so on, so that they could leave together and completely avoid the void that was coming home alone to a completely empty house.

Today, however, Luke had let her know he'd be home early, possibly even before her, so she opted against stopping by the diner, and instead purposely took an additional fifteen minutes with some paperwork, to give him plenty of time to reach home before her. Obviously, taking in the house's dark exterior, that wasn't the case. The presence of Luke's truck in the driveway didn't assure her one bit, since, due to the nice warm weather they were having and the short distance, Luke had taken to walk to and from work, even on the days he had William.

She sighed and closed the car door behind her, walking purposely slowly across the lawn towards her front door. Unlocking it, she first reached inside and turned on the porch light, then the foyer lights. She kicked off her heels, taking in the liberating feeling of being able to wriggle her toes, before dropping her keys in the bowl in front of her and headed into the kitchen. She went straight for the fridge, a habit strongly inspired by Luke's growing presence in her house, as in her and Rory's 'girl's only' reign, the fridge rarely held anything besides stale leftover take-out and occasionally a bottle or two of some substance masquerading as beverages. Once in a while one could also find some green blob that once upon a time resembled a fruit or vegetable that either girl had only bought to give the impression that they once in a blue moon did consume something containing vitamin C. Not even William's birth changed that, except for the addition of a couple of jars of baby food and some bottles in one of the fridge's shelves.

Now that Luke was a steady, very much included part of her home life, the fridge had begun containing actual food and beverages and any fruits or vegetables were either consumed or thrown out before they could even resemble a blob. Luke liked cooking her and William breakfast at the house. And on days where they didn't eat at the diner, he also made them all dinner. So, now, the fridge was completely stocked, both with food items that required some form of preparation and those that didn't.

Lorelai inspected the contents of the fridge, contemplating on grabbing a snack before her presumed dinner with Luke. A tin can of pineapple slices caught her attention. A year ago, Lorelai wouldn't even consider buying pineapple, let alone eat it, but ever since Luke cleverly pointed out that the canned type was so sweet it practically could pass as candy, Lorelai had begun reconsidering her relationship with certain types of fruit. She reached in to grab the can when there was a knock on the door.

A bit puzzled about who would come knocking at this hour, considering Babette was in New York with Morey, watching him play, Lorelai closed the fridge and headed back into the foyer. Her brows rose in confusion as she revealed a cap-less Luke standing at the other side at the door, wearing his dark jeans and one of his nicer shirts that Lorelai picked up for him at one of her and Rory's latest shopping trips.

- Since when do you knock, Lorelai asked, genuinely confused as Luke hadn't knocked on her door for a very long time.

She couldn't exactly pinpoint the date when Luke had stopped knocking, and started treating her home as a home for himself as well. It was just something she'd noticed one day, that Luke had come home from work and instead of waiting for her to come to the door, he had let himself in, unloaded the bag of groceries he'd brought and started on dinner. And instead of panicking about how serious the two of them seemed to be getting, Lorelai had simply stood in the arch that connected the kitchen and the living room, casually leaning back against the frame, watching her man maneuvering around the kitchen like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Snapping back to the present, Lorelai noticed something else as well.

- Where's William, she asked.

- Just dropped him off at Sookie and Jackson's, Luke informed her.

When she had left work earlier, Sookie had been talking about trying to get Davey to bed early to have a night alone with Jackson. Lorelai had been thinking about taking a leaf out of Sookie's book, as she, too, had noticed that it had been a while since she and Luke had spent some quality time together, just the two of them. If she was to judge from Sookie's expectations for the night, she was not aware of any babysitting agreement. Luke seemed to be picking up on Lorelai's confusion.

- I had a couple of tourists come in today, he said. - Young couple, permanently attached by the lips.

- I bet you loved that, Lorelai chuckled.

- Very, Luke said, dryly. - But it got me thinking and I realized that with everything that's been going on; the construction, Rory's move, William getting sick, that the two of us haven't had a proper date for a long time. So I called Jackson and asked if he and Sookie wouldn't mind looking after William tonight while I take my girlfriend out for dinner and a movie.

- Look at you, Mr. Spontaneity guy, Lorelai grinned. - And here I was under the impression that you hated dating.

- When it's dressing up uncomfortably to take some stranger out to some overrated, overpriced restaurant and then proceed to stare uncomfortably across the table at each other for an hour, hour and a half, only to come to the conclusion that there's nothing there, what's not to love, Luke stated, dryly.

- You're dressed up now, Lorelai teasingly pointed out.

Luke glanced down at his own attire.

- Not that much, he shrugged.

- But, on the other hand, you're not exactly taking out some stranger, Lorelai then added.

- Dear God, no, Luke sighed in relief.

Lorelai leaned in and planted a soft kiss on his lips.

- Good, she murmured. - Cause, you know, I'd have some objections towards that.

- Of course, Luke nodded.

It was now his turn to grin.

- So, assuming we have some reservations to make, Lorelai segued. - How long will I have to change?

- What you're wearing is fine, Luke shrugged.

- Oh no, Lorelai shook her head. - There's no way I'm wearing my work clothes for a night out with my man.

Luke sighed and planted both hands firmly in the pocket of his jeans. Lorelai didn't have to read his mind to know that he was already anticipating having to endure one of her longer clothing debacles.

- Ten minutes, she promised him.

Luke nodded, but she could tell he didn't believe her one bit. She would have to convince him that she could be quick if she wanted to. She planted another quick kiss on his lips, then dashed up the stairs to the bedroom to get ready. Of course, problems arose the minute she opened her wardrobe. She instantly recognized four different potential outfits for the evening. Every single top highlighting different aspects of her body, which was where her troubles lay. One really brought out the blue in her eyes, another complimented her dark curls and really sealed the deal when she did her little hair twirl that drove men crazy. There was one top that, weird as it may sound, really accented her slender arms. Then there was the obvious one that immediately drove the focus to her neck and cleavage area. In addition to that there was the pants versus skirt ordeal; or she could ignore both and just go for a dress, opening up a whole other type of debate.

Finally, reminding herself that her intention was to prove to Luke that he didn't have to wait forever for her to find something to wear, she grabbed a pair of tight jeans that she knew Luke really liked. Even if she ended up being five or ten minutes longer than she promised, she was sure she could work the pants in a way that would have Luke forgive her. She spread her four options out on her bed, trying to figure out which to go with. She bit her lip, envisioning Luke sitting in the living room, tapping his foot, checking his watch. Why did this have to be so hard? Finally, remembering a heated moment not too long ago when she'd gotten Luke to rank her assets, she decided on door number four.

Luke looked more relieved than annoyed, when she returned downstairs, only five minutes later than what she had promised and she could tell from his expression that he was feeling very appreciative of her choice of attire. She gave him a quick peck on the lips before going to put her shoes on. Another perk of her chosen outfit was that it allowed her to wear flats, which after a whole day of prancing around in heels, made for a very welcoming change.

- By the way, Luke said, as he led her out the door, locking it behind them. - We're watching Davey next weekend.

- Ah, Lorelai grinned. - The produce guy _did_ have some conditions after all.

- Just don't let Sookie suspect anything, Luke begged. - Jackson wanted this to be just between us.

- You're _so_ violating the guy code, right now, Lorelai teased.

- Lorelai, Luke groaned.

- She didn't hear it from me, Lorelai promised, holding her hands up in mock surrender.

- Thank you.

Bringing out his gentleman side, Luke escorted Lorelai to her side of the truck and opened her door for her, then closed it once she was seated. Lorelai tried several times during the ride to lure out of him where they were going, but Luke played things close to the chest. Of course, when he parked outside _Sniffy's Tavern_, his secret was out. But then again, she should have guessed, seeing as Luke had been the one planning the evening. There weren't many places Luke had a connection to and this was the only restaurant that she knew of, where he had that connection.

The last time Luke had brought her here, he had shown her directly to their reserved table. This time around, they were spotted by Maisy, the minute they came through the door. She looked the mixture of ecstatic and annoyed. Lorelai had a feeling she knew why. Unless Luke was in possession of one of those Time Turners, like in Harry Potter, he had not been in here for a long time, probably a lot longer than it usually took him to come back.

- 'Bout time you showed your face around here again, the woman said, pointedly at Luke, before turning and enveloping Lorelai in a hug, much to her surprise. - And, Lorelai, it's nice to see you're still with my boy, here.

- Yeah, Lorelai chuckled, returning the hug. - I was contemplating on bailing, but then I thought; what the hell, might as well see where this leads.

Maisy let go of Lorelai and turned back to Luke, again.

- Funny girl, she whispered to him, then looked between them. - But you seem to be one short.

- Friends of ours are watching him, Lorelai explained, turning to Luke, running her right index finger, teasingly, down his cheek. - Luke, here, wanted to have me all to himself, tonight.

Luke sent her a mildly annoyed look, but didn't say anything. Maisy just nodded, understandingly, before pointing her finger at the both of them.

- You two bring him along, next time, though, she ordered. - If you need some time on your own, Buddy and I can look after him.

Maisy then spotted someone standing behind them. Lorelai turned around and saw a young couple standing by the door, obviously waiting for someone to seat them. Maisy then turned her gaze to Luke, pointing to the back of the restaurant.

- I trust you can find your table on your own, she said to him. - I'm just gonna go seat those two over there and I'll be back to talk to you later.

Luke nodded and lead Lorelai away in the direction Maisy had pointed.

- Seems like someone wants to take on grandma duty, Lorelai said, amused.

- Makes sense, Luke shrugged. - Her and Buddy don't have kids on their own, so they've kinda been looking to me as a surrogate son. William is probably the closest they'll get to a grandson.

- That's sad, Lorelai muttered.

Having been a mom since the tender age of sixteen and now doing it all over again, twenty years later, Lorelai had a hard time imagining going through life and never having kids. Never having a Rory, or a William. Of course, it wasn't for everyone, like for Babette her cats were her babies, but with the way Maisy seemed to look at Luke and William, it seemed like nature hadn't given her a choice, or that she hadn't realized she wanted it until it was too late for her.

- Hey, maybe next time, we can ask them if they wanna babysit, Lorelai suggested. - I mean, Sookie and Jackson already have enough on their plate with Davey, and Maisy seems to really want to get to know William.

Luke turned and looked at her, and smiled.

- Sure, he nodded. - I think she'd like that.

The table was similar to the one they'd had the last time. For all she knew, it could very well be the same table. Not that it mattered so terribly. She slid in on the seat at the right and waited for Luke to sit down as well.

- So, she said, when he was seated next to her. - What movie are you taking me to?

Luke gave her a puzzled look.

- When you 'picked me up' you said dinner and a movie, Lorelai clarified. - So which movie did you choose?

- You'll see, Luke replied, secretively.

- Can you give me some sort of clue?

- Nope.

- First letter, Lorelai tried, but Luke just shook his head. - Oh, come on, you're not gonna give me anything to work on?

- You'll find out when we get there, Luke insisted.

- Will I even like this movie, Lorelai asked.

- You'll see.

- Is this like a payback thing, Lorelai enquired. - I sit you down with a chick flick and you find something equally bad for me to watch?

- Geez, Luke muttered, rolling his eyes.

- Come on, I'm dying here, Lorelai insisted.

- You'll know when we get there, Luke repeated, not giving away anything.

Just then, they both spotted Maisy making her way to the table.

- Saved by the proprietor, Luke joked.

- You both settled in, there, the woman enquired, receiving a nod from both adults. - One of my girls been by you, yet?

- No, not yet, Lorelai told her.

Maisy looked around and spotted a young girl standing over by the kitchen entrance.

- Julie, she called out. - Stop flirting with that bus boy and get your butt over here.

The girl blushed fiercely. Lorelai wasn't sure whether it was over having been caught slacking off or from Maisy spilling her dirty laundry all over the restaurant. Maisy caught Lorelai's astounded expression.

- She's been on that boy's tail since the day he started working here, Maisy informed her. - Either he's one hell of a slow poke, or she's unable to take a hint. Either way, I'm doing'em both a favor.

Lorelai chuckled as the poor girl approached the table like a dear caught in the headlights.

- Julie, Maisy said to the girl. - This here's my boy, Luke and his girl, Lorelai. Take good care of'em for me.

- Can I have a beer, Luke asked, receiving a disapproving look from Maisy.

Remembering Maisy's policy on what to drink on a date and how much Luke hated champagne, Lorelai quickly came to his rescue;

- That sounds good, one for me, too.

Luke sent her a grateful look. Maisy, on the other hand, simply shook her head and muttered something about birds of a feather and left for the kitchen, probably to collaborate with Buddy on what to serve the two lovebirds. After the waitress left the table, Lorelai turned, smugly, back to Luke.

- Don't think for a minute, I'm done bugging you about the movie.

However, no matter what tactic Lorelai tried to lure the surprise out of him, Luke did not budge, and her attempts were many. About an hour and a half after they had arrived at Sniffy's, Luke lead Lorelai out of the restaurant and into the car. From there the journey went to a cozy little small town movie theater, much like their own Black, White and Read. At first Lorelai was a bit lost on why Luke had chosen this particular movie theater, but then she spotted the poster advertising tonight's feature film.

- The Breakfast Club, Lorelai stated in disbelief. - You brought me to see The Breakfast Club.

- You kept talking about how you missed out on watching it when the Black, White and Read was showing it, Luke shrugged. - So I thought I'd check to see if they were showing it somewhere else.

- How did you even know where to look, Lorelai wondered, considering how she hadn't even heard of this place before.

Luke simply shrugged.

- I've been here a couple of times, he admitted.

It took Lorelai mere seconds to put two and two together.

- You've brought previous dates here, she concluded. - Who? When?

- No one you'd know, Luke shrugged, noticing her disbelieving expression. - What? Like I was a complete hermit all of those years.

- How is it you managed to keep this under the radar, Lorelai wondered, a bit impressed with this new information. - I mean, Babette and Miss Patty must have been watching you like a hawk.

- First of all, those select few I even took out on a date, I met out of town and went on one or two out of town dates with, Luke pointed out.

- Did you meet them at a Timberland store, Lorelai asked. - Cause that's what I'm picturing.

- Stop, please, Luke pleaded.

- Come on, Lorelai begged. - I have to know.

- Why are you so interested in this, Luke asked. - So I've been on a couple of bad dates in my time, it's not like I was moonlighting as a gigolo.

- I am _so_ picturing you in that Rob Schneider robe, Lorelai said, teasingly.

- Do you want to see this movie or not, Luke threatened.

Lorelai raised both hands in defeat.

- Okay, it's dropped.

Lorelai went straight to the local theater's popcorn stand, while Luke paid for their tickets. When she met back up with him by the entrance of the viewing room, Lorelai recalled a previous thought, lost in the whole secret dates revelation;

- Hey, you know another movie you could be on the look-out for?

- If you say 'Pretty in Pink', you can forget about it, Luke warned her. - That's where I draw the line. If it has the word 'pink' in the title, I'm not watching it.

- Good thing I was planning on suggesting St. Elmo's Fire, then, Lorelai teased.

- Never heard of it.

- Did you grow up in a cave, or something, Lorelai asked in disbelief. - Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Andrew McCarthy?

Luke gave her a look, as if to ask; _do you realize who you're talking to, here?_

- Demi Moore, Ally Sheedy, Andie MacDowell, Lorelai continued, receiving a more appreciative look from him.

- Better, he nodded. - I'll think about it.

The couple decided on one of the love seats up at the front. As they sat down, Luke did the typical guy move and put his arm over the back of Lorelai's seat. Settling in his embrace, Lorelai leaned up and whispered.

- Did you cut a hole in the bottom when I wasn't looking, as well, she asked, gesturing to the bowl of popcorn that was now sitting in his lap.

- Damn, Luke jokingly replied. - I knew I forgot something.

Lorelai giggled and flicked a piece of popcorn at him before snuggling up further in his embrace. It took but minutes until the intimate movie theater was full and the movie began. Lorelai being Lorelai, hummed along with the opening theme and as the movie progressed, whispered comments in Luke's ear.

- Hey, Lorelai suddenly said, as the five teens on screen were sizing each other up. - Which one of our five fine heroes would best describe you in high school?

- Can't say I relate to any of'em, Luke shrugged, shushing her, to avoid disturbing the other movie goers.

- Come on, Luke, Lorelai pleaded. - There has to be someone you relate to at least a little more than the rest.

Luke sighed, looking up at the screen as Andrew told Bender off.

- Then I guess I'm the jock, he shrugged.

- You're comparing yourself to Emilio Estevez, now, Lorelai teased.

- Geez, Luke muttered.

- Why the jock, Lorelai wondered.

- Well, I wasn't exactly what you'd call a model student and unless cutting class counts as a capital crime, I wasn't much of a criminal, either. Besides, I was on the track team in high school, so that would kinda qualify me as a kind of jock.

- Ah, the process of elimination, Lorelai nodded.

- And you? Lemme guess, Molly Ringwald's character?

- God, no, Lorelai laughed and shook her head. - But brownie points for remembering her name. If I'm anyone, I'm Allison.

Luke looked up at the screen as Allison yelped and slammed her head into the desk.

- I can see the resemblance, he said, dryly.

- The parental issues, Lorelai pointed out. - Our unhealthy snack obsession. Our shared love for driving people crazy?

Luke shrugged, probably seeing some truth in it.

- Hey, you know what I just realized, Lorelai asked.

- What?

- Our characters end up together. Isn't that cool to think about?

- Guess we're a perfect match, then, Luke shrugged.

- Guess so, Lorelai grinned, pulling him down for a kiss.

It was almost midnight when Luke pulled up in Lorelai's driveway. Like when picking her up, he went around the car and opened the door for her. Lorelai was still grinning from ear to ear as she continued listing her favorite scenes from the movie, as she had been doing the whole way home.

- ...and Allison coming to detention, simply because she had nothing better to do.

- Sounds like something you would do, Luke asked, teasingly.

Lorelai thought about it for a couple of seconds.

- Depends on who else would be there, she decided.

Luke chuckled as he led Lorelai up to the front door, turning her around to face him.

- So, here we are, he announced.

- I had a really good time, Lorelai told him.

Luke smiled.

- Likewise, he replied, capturing her lips in a soft kiss.

Lorelai wrapped her arms around his neck, eagerly returning the kiss. One kiss lead to another, and another. After having 'entertained' the empty neighborhood for a good ten-fifteen minutes, Lorelai gently broke the kiss off, resting her forehead against his.

- So, she said, playing to the whole 'normal date' charade. - You wanna come in?

Luke sighed.

- I have work in the morning, he pointed out.

Lorelai nodded and only slightly mock-pouted.

- Me, too, she admitted. - So, rain check?

- Definitely, Luke promised, kissing her one more time.

Breaking off the kiss, they looked into each other's eyes one more time, before Luke turned and unlocked the front door with his very own key, allowing Lorelai to enter before following. With William away for the night, they skipped looking in on him and went straight to their bedtime ritual. Luke quickly brushed his teeth while Lorelai slipped out of her date attire and into her usual nightshirt. Then, while Lorelai occupied the bathroom, Luke changed and went downstairs to fill two water glasses, drinking one of them before filling it up again. He placed them on the nightstands on either side of the bed.

He was already lying on his back, his right arm tucked under the pillow on his side of the bed, when Lorelai returned from the bathroom. Turning off the main lights, she slipped in under the covers, snuggling up against her man, who in return pulled her closer with his free hand. Though she was groggy at best, sleep threatening to take her, Lorelai was certain that the last thing she heard before drifting off was Luke's voice whispering;

- _I love you._

TBC 


	128. Shopping Week

AN: Okay, so you're wondering what my excuse for being late is this time? I got a real shock, when I logged onto FanLib a week ago, only to see the announcement that the place is shutting down, effective on Monday. As I don't want to lose that unique community we've built there over the past year, I saw no other choice than to take action and set up a new forum for us to move to. Getting the forum to run smoothly and saving tutorials, resource links and everything else before it all perish in the shut-down, kinda took up a lot of time. I'm sorry. I've got it under control now.

**emmy m.d.** - Aren't you glad you didn't look at the chapter count? Don't worry, I have no intention to abandone the story. It would take some severe outside forces to do that. This story's my baby and who would abandone their baby? Hope to hear from you again :)

**Loridhhp** - Sunburned? Ugh, that happened to me on the first day of my brief holiday. My skin was leathery and aching for several days. I feel for you.

**Copop** - I did the knocking thing as kind of a pointed comment at ASP on how Luke was knocking the door in season 6, when strictly speaking he was already living there. I wanted to show how the non-pod Luke and Lorelai would go about it. I'm glad you liked the date. I felt it was about time to give the two a baby-free night together.

* * *

_Okay, so cross 20th Century World History off the list_, Rory decided, as she watched her fellow students return to the classroom for the second half of Professor Stiller's introduction lecture. Truth be told, it could have been an interesting course had the professor's dry, monotone voice not been enough to almost put her to sleep three times in the last fifteen minutes. So, rather than returning to class for what could only be an unfruitful use of her time, Rory did something very un-Rory-like and walked off in the opposite direction. Though when choosing her classes for 'Shopping Week', Rory had packed her choices tight, her skipping out on her last class made a gap in her schedule and the girl found herself suddenly at loss on how to fill the void.

Of course, she could head to the on campus book store in the next door building and get that last Sociology book she had failed to get the last time she'd been there. However, she did have the tendency of never managing to stay just ten minutes in a book store, especially not one as extensive as this one. Having grown up with Stars Hollow Books as her primary source for literature, Rory couldn't just not take her time to browse the shelves in this institution of a book store, even when she had a specific errand. No, visiting the book store would have to wait until the end of the day. In the meantime, getting coffee seemed like a more appropriate way to spend her sudden free time. Having just endured one of Professor Stiller's lectures, she was in desperate need for a caffeine fix.

As she wandered down the hallway, Rory could hear the voices of old, some of them tenured, professors seeping through the doors. She was probably crazy to admit it, but that was one of the things she had found herself missing during summer. Rory had always loved school, loved learning, but actually walking down the hallways of an Ivy League college and knowing that she had made it, that she was learning all these important things from such important professors, there was just nothing like it.

One voice, however, was different from the rest, clearer, more distinct. And when Rory rounded the corner, she instantly knew why. It was rare to find an open door once class was in session. Most Professors were big fans of punctuality and the motto; _come on time or don't come at all_. This didn't change during shopping week. The professors would pretend to have to do some last minute prep work to allow students who were a minute or two behind schedule to catch up, but once class was in session, the door would close.

Only a select few people allowed the door to remain open, and apparently Cate was among them. Rory was still too far away to catch anything of substance, but she could see directly into the classroom. The desks were set in a horseshoe, almost a circle and Cate was walking around the middle, gesticulating wildly to illustrate her point. She seemed very passionate about what she was talking about, the complete opposite to Professor Stiller. Not that it was unusual for such a distinction between two age groups in the faculty. Of course, some tenured professors still had that spark in their eye when they taught, but the general consensus was that it was more common to find that kind of passion and energy to reside in younger teachers and TA's than those who had been teaching for all of Rory's life and longer.

Finding herself a little curious, despite having already told Cate at dinner she'd had her choices made, Rory quietly approached the open classroom, peaking in the doorway, hoping not to be discovered. The woman currently had her back turned as she addressed that half of the class. Considering the title of the class, Rory was not surprised to find the majority of the students populating the room to be other girls. Not many boys were that interested in taking a course focusing so entirely on women's accomplishments as this one.

- ...and cover revolutionary authors, like Betty Friedan, a personal hero of mine, Cate explained, her back still turned to the door. - And from there follow the women's movement and the wave of newer feminist writers up to our time... And if you over by the door plan on listening in much longer, I suggest you just come in and take a seat.

The class burst into laughter and Rory blushed furiously, part of her embarrassed at having been caught in this manner, the other surprised that Cate even knew she was there, considering she hadn't turned around to spot her, yet. Rory quietly entered the room and sat down at one of the empty chairs, too ashamed to meet the eyes of her classmates. Cate, who now had turned around to greet her new student, seemed to notice and sent Rory an assuring smile.

- Just to bring our newcomer up to speed, Cate continued, this time addressing Rory's half of the class. - This is _Women and the written word_, originally taught by Professor Jennings, but due to her extended Maternity Leave, I will be your teacher for this semester. This class will mainly focus on women authors, but towards the end we will take on more modern ways for women to express themselves, through journalism, and even politics. But don't worry, I will not be bribing the dean of admission to hand over your essays on a certain New York senator we all know and love...

Another wave of laughter rolled through the classroom. Rory couldn't be anything but relieved that Cate had settled the class so quickly and continued with the lecture, as if she hadn't been interrupted at all. It made it easier to follow the lecture without worrying about what kind of first impression she had made on her classmates. However, as she was ready to devote her full attention to Cate, or Miss Hamilton, as Rory would insist on calling her during class (anything less would be disrespectful), Rory suddenly felt the cell phone in her right pocket vibrating.

Luckily she had muted the sound, but as per usual, she had forgotten all about the vibrate. Not even glancing at the display, Rory discretely rejected the call. Even if she didn't have her own strict 'no calls during class' policy, she was not about to interrupt the class again. Cate carried on with her presentation, then opened the floor up for questions. Due to first day nerves for several of the students, the questions were few and as a result, Cate dismissed the class ten minutes early.

One by one the students left the classroom, while Cate gathered up the course introductions and booklists that some of the students had left behind. This was usually the TA's job, as was making the copies and passing them around before class. The professors usually left immediately after class ended to head to their next lecture, leaving their trusted TA to tidy up, pass out assignments, if any and so on, but as Cate strictly speaking was a TA, herself, Rory assumed that she didn't have one appointed.

- Miss Hamilton, Rory said, announcing her presence.

- Class was dismissed five minutes ago, Rory, Cate reminded her. - So you are free to call me Cate.

Despite her mother almost marrying one of her Chilton teachers a couple of years back, Rory still wasn't used to being on a first name basis with her teachers, and it didn't feel that natural to call one by her first name when Rory only met the woman a week and a half ago.

- Sorry, she apologized. - Old habit.

- So, what do you think, Cate asked. - Are you tempted to change your mind about signing up?

Rory froze, hoping she hadn't inadvertently made any promises. Cate seemed to notice her inability to answer.

- Don't worry about it, she assured her. - Stepping into this classroom is not a binding agreement. And I will not be hurt if your answer is no.

- It sounds like a very interesting subject, Rory said. - The little I heard, at least.

- It is, Cate nodded. - But of course, if I didn't think so, why would I be teaching it, right?

Rory chuckled and nodded, picking up the one class description that Cate had left in a pile on the desk nearest the door.

- You can take that with you, if you want, Cate told Rory. - And the booklist. Even if you decide not to take the class, the books might still be of interest.

Rory nodded, grabbing a copy of the booklist as well. She wanted to say something, when her phone began vibrating again. She quickly excused herself, slinging her book bag over her shoulder, exiting the class room, the papers still in her hand. No time to check the display properly, Rory simply flipped the phone opened and answered;

- Hello?

- _Thank God_, Lorelai sighed at the other end. - _I've been calling you all morning, where were you?_

With that, Rory checked the screen and saw that she had six missed calls. A bit confused on how that had come to be at first, she quickly remembered her phone lying in her book bag all morning. She had only fished it out of the bag to discretely check for the time in Professor Stiller's class, only to have the student next to her tell her, before she had a chance to look at the screen. Not wanting to draw any attention to herself, Rory had simply slipped her phone into her right pocket and not thought much more about it until it had begun vibrating in Cate's class.

- I was in class, Rory explained.

- _Oh, right, Shopping Week_, Lorelai recalled, Rory almost hearing her smacking her head. - _I'm sorry, I've just been so desperate to talk to someone, that I completely forgot you had school._

- Well, they say memory declines with age, so, Rory teased.

- _You are so lucky we are on the phone, missy_, Lorelai scolded.

- Does pointing out that you could pass for a college student if you put in half an effort earn me any brownie points?

There was a slight pause at the other end, while Lorelai pretended to consider it.

- _Okay, you're forgiven._

- So, you were desperate to talk to someone, Rory reminded her, bringing them back to topic.

It wasn't that she didn't want to talk to her mother, but Rory had another class coming up soon and the seconds were ticking.

- _Yes, I've been talking to William all morning and I'm desperate to talk to someone capable of offering me feedback with more than one or two syllables._

- Where's Luke, Rory asked, wondering why her mother couldn't talk to him.

- _He's at work._

- And you are..?

- _At work, also._

- There, talk to Sookie, Rory concluded.

- _Why, are you desperate to get rid of me?_

- Yes, as the matter of fact, I have a class coming up shortly, so I'm kinda on the clock here.

- _But I have to talk to you. I kinda need someone removed from the gossip colony we call Stars Hollow._

- And you can't talk to Luke?

- _It kinda involves Luke._

- You're pregnant, Rory guessed.

- _What? God, no_, Lorelai laughed. - _We just got William's room all done. I would like to have a little more time before we start thinking about giving him more siblings. I'm pretty sure Luke would like that as well._

- Okay, so you're not pregnant, I can't think of anything else you'd be afraid of the town finding out.

- _I wouldn't say afraid as much as wanting to keep private matters private, you know?_

- Okay, then what is this private thing you need to tell me, but keep secret from the rest of the town?

- _Luke loves me_, Lorelai announced. - _Or at least, I think he does._

- Mom, you're only realizing this now?

- _No, I mean, I'm pretty sure he told me he loves me last night._

- How can you only be pretty sure?

- _'Cause it was in bed, and..._

- Okay, Rory stopped her. - I really need you to stop right there.

- _There was no dirty_, Lorelai promised her. - _At all. We were going to bed and as per usual, I snuggled up to him and was snoozy at best, but I'm very sure I heard him say 'I love you'._

Assuming her mother was only taking a few seconds pause, Rory waited for Lorelai to continue.

- _Rory?_

- That's it?

- _'That's it?' That's all you're gonna say?_

- What else am I gonna say, Rory wondered. - I mean, I'm happy for you, mom, but when you said you've been dying for someone to talk to, I assumed it was something with a little more debate to it.

- _But what do you think it means?_

Rory chuckled and shook her head at her mother's obsessing.

- I think it means he loves you, which I can't say is much of a surprise.

- _Not that_, Lorelai insisted. - _I meant, why here and now? Why that particular moment?_

- Why any moment, Rory countered. - You've been together for months, you live together, have a kid together, I hardly think him admitting that he loves you is that big of a surprise. He's probably been feeling it for a good while now and last night it probably seemed like just as good a time as any to let those three words slip. That's my take on this.

Lorelai went quiet at the other end.

- Have you told him, Rory asked.

- _Not as in straightforwardly announcing it to him, no_, Lorelai dismissed.

- But in another way, Rory probed.

- _I kinda had this Freudian slip a few weeks back_, Lorelai admitted.

- Did Luke notice?

- _I don't know, I mean he did look at me a bit funny, so he could have, but I'm not sure. Hey, you don't think that's why..._

- Stop that thought right there, Rory warned. - Luke wouldn't just say something without meaning it. And he certainly wouldn't say it just because you let it slip that you love him.

Rory checked the time and realized she was running late for her next class.

- And I don't have time to discuss this any further, as I'm hereby officially late for class, she continued. - But, just so you know, I don't see why you couldn't just have talked to Sookie about this.

- _Because this is a very private matter_, Lorelai explained. - _Not to mention if she in her excitement let it slip or someone overheard us, the town would have had our whole wedding planned by the time Luke comes home from work. Do you see my point?_

Lucky for Rory, the classroom door was still open, though the professor seemed to be ready to close it any minute.

- I guess, Rory conceded. - But now I have to go, because I think Professor Barnes is about to start class.

- _Okay, hon. I love you._

- Love you, too, mom, Rory replied. - But don't go overanalyzing it.

- _Ha ha._

TBC 


	129. Kirk's new endeavor

AN: I know I'm beyond late with this update, so I won't bother with an explanation other than that you will understand soon enough. Cryptic, I know. Look for an announcement in my profile in the upcoming weeks. As always, major props to Steph for betaing.

**bestkept** - We will get to informing the elder Gilmores eventually. They will not walk around in the dark forever, but that's as much as I can say for now. Just keep on reading.

**Candygal** - Thank you, I am always happy to hear from new readers.

**karose10** - I can't say Emily's intention was for Rory to end up in the class, more likely she was looking to help Rory make new contacts at Yale, especially contacts so close to the Hartford society as Cate.

**Copop** - lol, yeah, I decided to change the name because I go by 'Misskitten' pretty much everywhere else on the web, might as well make it more consistent. Unfortunately there already was a 'Miss Kitten' here, so 'Ms Kitten' it is. Sorry for teasing you, but I think you, too, have to admit that it's a bit too early for another baby. Not saying there won't be one eventually, but if so, it will have to be a little bit later.

* * *

- I swear, Mrs. Cassidy, Lorelai said for the umpteenth time that day. - I am on it. I called the plumber and they are fitting us in to have this problem fixed today, I promise. Are you sure you don't want me to move you to another room? ... Yes, I realize you are paying for the honeymoon suite, but we will of course compensate you...

Lorelai temporarily rested the receiver against her chest to catch a breath as the woman rambled on about the money she was spending, the level of service she was entitled to, ignoring the fact that Lorelai couldn't exactly pull a plumber out of thin air, that these things took time and there wasn't much Lorelai could do about that. She let out a sigh as she picked the receiver up for a moment to hear if the woman was closing in on the end of her ramble. No sign of that happening anytime soon, Lorelai lowered the phone once again, sending another pleading look to the rude French concierge to take the problem off her hands.

- It did not work an hour ago, Michel pointed out in his dry, monotone voice, not even looking up from his work. - What makes you think it will now?

Lorelai sighed and covered the receiver with her free hand.

- And here I thought Bridezillas were supposed to get nicer once the wedding was over and done with.

- Except the ones who have their honeymoons ruined by exploding water pipes, Michel pointed out as he continued sorting through his green and pink post-its, as if it was the most important task in the world.

- And it's not even noon yet, Lorelai muttered, lifting the receiver back up only to realize to her horror that the ramble had been terminated earlier than anticipated. - What? No, of course I was listening...

As she listened to the woman scolding her for not paying more attention to her rambling, Lorelai looked up to see Michel smirking at her. Before she could shoot daggers at him for enjoying her misery, she spotted a familiar face in the doorway. Kirk did not look himself as he was uncharacteristically dressed up in a suit two sizes too big for him, undoubtedly his fathers or one of his brothers', carrying a slightly worn briefcase containing God knows what. He looked to mean business, which could only mean one thing; trouble.

- Oh God, not today, Lorelai groaned, then realized she was still on the phone. - No, not you...

- Excuse me, Lorelai, Kirk said.

Lorelai quickly motioned for him to wait, while dealing with her current issue.

- Of course we appreciate your feedback, criticism especially, but I'm afraid that until the plumber actually gets here to tend to the pipes, there really is little I can do besides offer to move you to another room temporarily... No, I can't say when the plumber will be here exactly... Tell you what, if he hasn't arrived by four o'clock, then dinner for you and your husband, dessert included will be on the house... Okay, but I have another issue to attend to, I will come straight to you when the plumber arrives... Okay, bye.

Lorelai groaned and rubbed her temple, breathing deeply in and out a couple of times to gather herself.

- What can I do for you, Kirk?

- I have a business proposal for you, Kirk replied. - Well, you and Sookie, actually.

- A business proposal, huh? It's not another line of skincare products, is it? 'Cause we all remember what happened the last time.

- Not at all, Kirk assured her. - My days in the cosmetics industry are over.

- So, what's this new business endeavor of yours?

- Actually I was wondering if we could make this more of an official meeting.

- Official how, Lorelai asked, almost dreading the answer.

- How about lunch, Kirk suggested, then added. - On the house.

Lorelai silently shook her head.

- 'On the house' only applies to when _you_ are the owner of the establishment, she pointed out. - Also, from a business point of view, making a prospective client pay for lunch is probably not the way of winning them over.

- I would offer to pay myself, but unfortunately mother has confiscated my wallet. It might take me a couple of days to get it back.

- Pitiful man, Michel muttered, only loud enough for Lorelai to hear it.

Trying hard to stay professional, despite of who she was dealing with, Lorelai sent the concierge a warning glance before turning back to Kirk. While she was curious to know why Kirk's mother had taken the wallet of her thirty-odd year old son, she knew asking Kirk for details was like opening a can of worms. And considering she didn't really have the time to hear Kirk out as it was, getting the whole story was currently out of question.

- Well, lunch here has been cut, anyway, so it doesn't really matter.

- There's always Luke's, Kirk suggested. - It does, of course, require you talking him into letting me have a tab, as I have yet to convince him, myself.

- I think that's beyond even my persuasive abilities, Lorelai pointed out.

- Damn, Kirk muttered. - Now where am I supposed to eat all my meals?

- At home, Lorelai suggested.

- Mother's on a diet, Kirk explained. - The fridge is pad-locked and I'm sadly allergic to broth.

- That's unfortunate, Lorelai acknowledged.

- Of course, I could maybe ask Lulu to bring something over when she sneaks in tonight.

- Sneaks in..? Um, never mind.

Lorelai noticed the light on the baby monitor flickering. Whatever it was detecting clearly wasn't loud enough for the monitor to transmit sound, but all signs indicated that her son would be waking up soon. Noticing that Michel was without a task, she looked to him.

- Michel...?

- Sorry, no, I don't do babies, Michel replied, dryly.

- I can check, myself, but that will leave you to deal with Kirk.

Michel turned on the spot;

- I'll go, but if he needs a diaper, I am handing him back to you.

Lorelai checked the time on the inn's computer.

- Okay, Sookie's probably still swamped with clearing out breakfast, but aside from a couple of bus boys, the dining room should be clear, if you can pitch your idea inside of fifteen minutes, I can hear you out.

- I'm afraid I'm gonna need both you and Sookie present.

- Kirk, in case you failed to notice, we are running a very busy inn here, I can't just pull my head chef out of the kitchen on a moments notice. She has a job to do, and frankly, so do I.

- I understand, Kirk nodded, gesturing to the loveseat by the window. - I'll just go sit over here until you have a minute.

Before Lorelai had time to answer, the reception phone rang. Lorelai halfway expected it to be the Bridezilla calling once more to light a fire under her feet on the plumber situation, but answered it anyway;

- _Dragonfly Inn, Lorelai speaking._

Fortunately the caller was just someone looking to book a room for September. Maybe her luck was turning? Hanging up, she received one more call, this time, too, just someone looking to book a room. Michel finally returned to the room, carrying a semi-awake William in his arms. For someone claiming to detest babies, Michel looked oddly comfortable with holding William, but then again, Lorelai had yet to see someone not fall head over heels with her son. He just had that effect on people.

- I am hereby handing over your offspring, he announced. - And informing you that the 'missing link' is still here and is staring at you.

Lorelai glanced over towards the window, seeing exactly what Michel was talking about. Kirk was sitting quietly in the loveseat, not doing anything besides looking at her, following her every move. It was very distracting, not to mention unsettling.

- Kirk? Could you please not do that?

- Do what?

Lorelai gave him a look.

- Oh, Kirk realized. - I'm sorry, it's just that will this take long? Because I borrowed this suit from my brother, Mick, and he needs it back by two o'clock.

Lorelai knew that giving in now would be like giving in to terrorist demands, but there was no way she could get any work done before Kirk was out of there. She pointed in direction of the dining room.

- You go set up whatever you need and I'll find Sookie. But fifteen minutes is what you'll get.

Kirk didn't need to be told twice and headed straight for the dining room. Lorelai turned to give Michel a look warning him from commenting on her giving in and then headed towards the kitchen, William snoozing in her arms. Like she anticipated, the kitchen was booming with life. The bus boys were carrying in stacks of plates, leftover food was being scraped off plates, tray by tray with plates, glass and cutlery were being run through the industrial dishwasher, the content then stacked back up into the cupboards, all ready for the next meal. Sookie was finishing cleaning the stove and going over the benches, when she spotted Lorelai standing in the doorway.

- Hey, she said, chipperly. - I thought you were battling the unsatisfied customers. Did the plumber get here already?

- I was, and no, the plumber is still MIA. However, Kirk stopped by with his latest business proposal.

- Oh no, Sookie sympathized. - You're in need of caffeine, aren't you?

- Yes, I am, but that's not why I'm stopping by. Because as it turns out, Kirk needs the both of us present to hear his proposal, and until we hear him out, he's gonna be in the reception, driving me insane.

- Okay, Sookie said, understandingly. - Well, I'm close to done here, anyway, so I can take a few minutes off. Why don't I make us some coffee, and maybe a mid-morning snack?

- Coffee, yes. Snack, no. I don't want to give Kirk the impression this is a lunch meeting.

- Got it, coffee coming up.

The coffee warm and in dangerous proximity to a sleepy, but way too curious William, Lorelai handed her son over to Sookie before allowing her to even pick up the mug. As they entered the dining room, they could see that Kirk had set up his presentation. It didn't give away anything, as it was merely called 'Kirk's Presentation'. Lorelai and Sookie each pulled out a chair from the neighboring table and made them face Kirk and the presentation before sitting down.

- Okay, Kirk, Lorelai said. - We're all ears.

- Right, over the past few weeks I've been observing Ms. Gilmore and Mr. Danes on their arrangement regarding the infant known as William Danes, then compared this to my observations on the Belleville's arrangement with the infant known as Davey Edward Belleville.

- Kirk, you've known us forever, what's with the formality?

- I thought it would sound better, Kirk stated, plainly.

- If creepy's better, then yes, Lorelai pointed out. - Just use our names, Kirk.

- As you wish, Kirk nodded. - Now, as I was saying, I observed each of you on the days you had custody of the baby; I logged work efficiency, level of service, number and length of breaks etc. and from there estimated how they compared to days where your partner had custody. In addition I polled a selection of customers on how they as customers experienced the impact of the baby's presence.

Lorelai now recalled having seen Kirk around more than usual in the past few weeks. However, her ability to tune the man out when needed had allowed her not to think much of it. After all, Kirk was Kirk, and there was no way of knowing what he was up to until he, himself, decided to elaborate.

- I have to say that Lorelai and Luke's arrangement with taking baby William to work every other day made my research a lot easier, Kirk pointed out. - I found out that on days where you or Luke had custody of baby William; your work efficiency dropped almost thirty percent, your total break time grew an astonishing four hundred percent. This was much easier detected at the diner, where customer mass and demands were more consistent. Sookie and Jackson's arrangement with Jackson taking the baby on most days made it harder for me to compare efficiency to that of Lorelai and Luke. I did, however, notice that fruit and vegetable deliveries took up to three times more time than any other deliveries. But this could also be due to Sookie and Jackson's romantic relations and not necessarily the baby. I also observed that any lunch breaks that included a baby lasted more than twice as long than those that didn't. This was pretty much consistent with Lorelai's lunch breaks.

Lorelai wanted to point out this was because that unless she had a lunch meeting of any kind, she and Sookie pretty much took their lunch breaks together. But she resisted the urge.

- When determining how baby Davey affected Jackson's productivity, I had to observe a competing, but single produce man over in Woodbury. Unfortunately he took my observations as expressing interest and issued a restraining order. This inabled me to complete my research, so without exact calculations, all I can determine is that Jackson was less productive in his day than his competition, which most likely was a result of having custody of the kid.

- Kirk, it's not that we don't appreciate being told how our performance is affected by our family ties, but where are you going with all of this?

- Yeah, Sookie agreed. - What's up with the meeting?

- What my research has concluded is that to uphold general productivity and efficiency there's a fundamental need for an organized institution for taking care of children while their parents work.

- Like a daycare, Lorelai concluded.

- Yes, exactly, Kirk nodded. - Which is where my business proposal comes in.

Kirk flipped a page on his presentation, revealing a picture of Kirk's mother's house with the title 'Kirk's Daycare Center' above it. Lorelai and Sookie's eyes met.

- I realize that Stars Hollow already have a preschool, which one may argue is very much like a daycare, but my incentive is that 'Kirk's Daycare Center' will not only cover ages three and up, but also open up for accepting children of toddler age and below as well. There will no longer be need for one parent to stay home or bringing the kids to work; Kirk's here to help! And being some of my first customers, I can offer you a great deal.

Lorelai was momentarily mute, not sure how to put it gently.

- Kirk, she finally said. - You realize you're asking people to trust you with their kids, right? Kids, as in plural? As in more than one?

- Don't you worry, Lorelai. I am well prepared, Kirk insisted. - I've taken a course in CPR, I have bought several books on child psychology and I have excellent recommendations from all my previous employers. I will, of course, also be hiring help. You already know Lulu, she's great with kids.

- You mean Lulu's gonna work there part-time, Lorelai asked. - Or is she gonna quit her job at the school?

- We haven't come around to discussing it, yet.

- But she's said she's interested, Lorelai prodded, having a hard time believing Lulu would give up her current job for a project so doomed to fail as this one.

- I haven't asked her yet, Kirk admitted. - But she's very supportive.

Lorelai and Sookie's eyes met once more, both of them desperate to find a nice way of saying no.

- Kirk, Lorelai started, ransacking her mind for the right words. - Choosing daycare for our kids, it's not something we can decide on a whim...

- Say no more, Kirk assured them. - I understand completely.

He opened his briefcase, from which he handed each of them a pamphlet.

- Take this home and read it, he told them. - On the back you will find contact information and an application form. You will see me in town all week, so if you have anymore questions don't hesitate to ask.

- Uh, okay, Kirk, Lorelai said, refraining on commenting on the last thing Kirk had said. - So, thank you for that presentation, but we really have to get back to work, and your brother probably would like his suit back.

- Thank you for hearing me out, Kirk replied, shaking both of their hands in a professional manner.

Sookie left for the kitchen as Kirk packed up his equipment. Lorelai was about to head back to the reception when Kirk called for her one more time.

- Hey, Lorelai, could I maybe leave some pamphlets in the reception?

- In case the guests like Stars Hollow so much they decide to move here?

- Bad idea, Kirk asked.

- Just a tad.

TBC 


End file.
